Finding Your Pediatrician with Dr. Lauren Crosby

shopping for a pediatrician. The right pediatriction can see you and your little one and later you're not so little one through eighteen years or so of checkups and unizations, runny noses and fevers, tummy bugs and boo boos of all varieties. Help you troubleshoot feeding problems, navigate napstraight, resolve rashes, document your baby's amazing growth and development. So today we are talking about how to find the baby doctor that's

right for you and your baby. And joining me today is Dr Lauren Crosby, a board certified pediatrician here in Los Angeles and my personal go to for all things baby, not to mention full disclosure, pediatrician to two of my favorite babies, Lenox and Sebastian. Welcome. Dr Crosby. Hi, hi ki, thanks for having me. First of all, we have talked a lot on what to expect about pregnancy and parenting during a pandemic, and there's a lot to talk about.

But how has the pandemic changed the way that pediatricians practice. That's a good question. So in a couple of ways. One is the way our office runs is different. You know, you're not going to have like tons of little kids running around the hallways anymore, and just the stroller parking

lot that we're trying to have it not crowded. This is are doing video visits or i tele medicine visits or what they call it telehealth, where certain things can be done that way where you don't even have to leave your home and we can set up times with people where we can look at certain things that way. Like I've had very successful office visits for things like beastings or allergic reaction type rashes that they thought were that or you know, like ezema or rewards, or you know,

discussing medication changes. The next best thing to be in there, right, Okay, let's say you're expecting your first baby and you don't have the slightest clue on how to find the pediatrician that you know you're going to need. Stat When is

the best time to start looking for a pediatrician? Really, anytime during pregnancy, except for not maybe the last few weeks, and even maybe before like thirty five, thirty six weeks, like given at least a month or marek because you don't know how long it's going to take, or maybe you want to interview a bunch of people and you want to have plenty of time, and it has to match your schedules. Sometimes we play a lot of phone

to bag. So I think early is always good, definitely, essentially because there's always a slim possibility your baby might come early surprise you. So you want to be all set. How do you start? What are the first things to consider? And I would imagine the first first first thing is deciding if you're going to use a pediatrician or family physician, you know, I think that that decision depends on the

family physicians experience. You know, pediatricians are specifically trained and only trained in the health, development and illnesses in children, and that's very specific. So there are lots of things that we scream for you know. Now I've done this for twenty years. You know I can eyeball stuff and be like that's okay, that's not okay, you know, things like that. So some family physicians deal a lot more

with older kids or maybe more adults. So it depends on how much of their practice is really real true general pediatrics. I think that matters um And then to actually find a pediatrician, you do want someone who is board certified. It will say after their name, after the M D or the d O, it will say f A a P. So that's Fellow of American Academy Pediatrics,

which means they're board certified. Now some people don't put those initials after their name, but you can always call their office and make sure their board certified or look them up even online. Often it's the will be a lot of times it makes the initial recommendation or will give a list of people. Call these offices, talk to these people. Yeah, that's how Emma found you. In fact, was her be recommended you? And you can also ask

friends or coworkers. Definitely very helpful because you may have friends. They know you, they know your style, they know that you're either a worried about certain things, or you're not and they may be able to go this is a good fit for you. Yeah, and I wouldn't necessarily go by online reviews as much as those no, because sometimes, like even like for our yell page, they'll put a one star because the person was mad, because our office doesn't take people who don't vaccinate. So you given you

went on yelp and give us a one start, gotcha? Yeah, so you know what I mean. It's extremes. It's either super happy or like super mad. So clearly some parents are going to have more of a choice than others because of insurance coverage or because of their location if they're in a rural area where there are a few choices. But if you have the choice, would you suggest um having an interview, consult with a potential candidate, or would

you even suggest two or three? Yes, I think it's good to kind of get a list of people and maybe narrow it down. You could narrow it down by how many other friends you know that go there and I'm happy with them, or how far is the schleft to the office, you know, especially in a city like l A where it could take you like an hour to not even go that far, so traffic, office location and hours and all of those things do matter, and

then it is good to do a visit. We used to bring pregnant women into the office and we would sit down and meet with them. Now we're not, so we're doing it either virtually on a video and visit or via phone call too. And I feel like you might miss a lot in a phone call if you're not you know, making eye contact, at least for me, I feel like a video call would be, if possible,

would be prefercent. That's what we do. Yes, and even if you've made your decision without a console, do you think it's important to have one call or video visit before the delivery so that you're all kind of all set about what's going to happen, what you can expect. Typically, what I always did when I did those was I also would talk about what's what's going to happen at

the hospital even during that. So I usually say so once the baby's out, they call our office right away, and then we come see the baby, and we kind of give them that, but they should call if they still have more questions. For sure, you make it sound so easy once the baby's out just you know, just like that. Let's let's dig into some of the topics

you'll want to cover with a potential pediatrisian. I imagine some of these you could just go over with the office off when you make your call for the appointment. Hospital affiliation does that matter? I mean, we like to see our newborns right when they come out, like we enjoy going in the morning and seeing the new babies.

But it doesn't always work out. Sometimes their insurance doesn't cover the hospital that were so at least if you know we'll see them within usually forty eight hours after going home, then that's also good because they do have people who will cover and sometimes the OBI who delivers that the hospital has a pediatrician they work with really well, and we'll recommend to see your baby until you come to our office. Do you think there are benefits to

going into there's probably fewer than ever. But solo practice as opposed to group practice or a practice that combines a nurse practitioner or physicians assistant. Some it depends on style, Like I know there's parents, Like we have five doctors right now in our practice, UM and so we have a busy practice and a busy office. Not prouding anymore though at least, but we do really have a good

number of patients that we see. So for us, if you want an appointment at a certain time, like for the check up, make it on your way out, because an office that is on the busier side, their availability maybe a little bit tighter um to get you in at a time that you want, whereas a smaller office maybe with one or two doctors, depending how busy they are.

You can find out those kind of things like how long is the way time to get an appointment, same day appointments, all of those things, and then you know if you have qualified nurse practitioner. You know, typically pediatric nurse practitioners are quite good, intend to know their limitations, and they are also supervised by a physician as well. It does depend on what's available in your area. I

will say. One other thing is that in our practice I have found it's nice to have several doctors there at one time. There's always like two or three of us because also we'll talk to each other, run things by each other, or I'll say, look, I'm not going to be here tomorrow, but when you come back, I want you to see doctor so and so. So I'm gonna bring her in so you can meet her. And now way tomorrow you come back for us to look at the wound or the cut or listen to the lungs.

You'll know who it is and she'll be able to know what's going on. But there's definitely a benefit to seeing generally this same pediatation for every world baby check up as possible. Yes, and you do want to know who's covering you know if that doctor, especially in a solo, practices on vacation because us we always have multiple ones of us around. You're not allowed to have vacation, right, be off, it's not like we're going anywhere, No exactly,

say cation. Um. So the phone calls when parents have questions, should you ask how those are handled? Typically? Are there call in times or is it a free for all and you wait for a callback. Some doctors do have call in ours where people can just call UM. A lot of them take a message and the return the calls like we return the calls usually between twelve fifteen and one fifteen and then after five of it's a

specific call where they need us. But we do have trained nurses who do phone calls and often are the first ones on the phone triage because a lot of times they can tell you, you know what, you need to just come in. I'm going to give you an appointment, or that is totally fine, and that is going around, and if that fever is still there by tomorrow, we'll just call in the morning. We'll get you in. They know. I get messages, like yesterday, I got a few. The

nurse put them right in my box. She said, this one you need to call, or this one really would prefer to just talk to you, and that's fine, and we just call them mat and protocol for emergencies. And I think it's kind of like a Murphy's law of sick kids. But it's always like Saturday night at three am. Did you ask about that as well. Yeah. It's also like who's covering and who handles the after hours calls.

So some people have on call centers that take over and then only reach out to the actual doctor if it's something that the on call nurse system doesn't handle. Um, whether it's through the medical center they're affiliated with or a company they hire for us, it's one of the five doctors which take turns each night on call and so after hours, it's our same phone number and it

gives two options. If it's the emergency, you press this and leave a message and we get paged right away, versus I have a question that I need to know tonight, but I don't have no right to second. Then we call back in about one and after two hours. On those I'm sure you have the parents who think everything

is an emergency. We do. That's okay, we know, and you know all those basics are super important, you know, and you can ask about how billing has done all that, all those logistics, But I think even more important than that is making sure that pediatrician is on the same page as you when it comes to certain philosophies and points of view immunizations. I know that's a non negotiable in your office, like every parent needs to accept immunizations

for their their baby. What would you say to a prospective parent who comes in and says, I am really nervous about this whole vaccination thing. I heard this or that. As you know, it's also become like a huge topic.

So I do like to give them perspective because what's happened now is because these parents are not seeing polio every day, and they're not seeing measles, and they're not seeing newmaccocklemaningitis and hidmeningitis with children with hearing loss and brain damage, and you're not seeing it because of these fabulous vaccines. That you need to realize that these diseases come back when we stop vaccinating. People travel all over

the world. There are countries that don't have access to the vaccines, and we are lucky that we have them. So I do go through my years of experience what I have seen, how all of us have kids. We've all vaccinated our kids with everything. They're all totally fine and healthy, and we just really want them to know that it's benefits benefits benefits much outweigh the risk exactly, and everyone around your baby should be up to date

on other refinings. Absolutely true breastfeeding. You're not gonna find pediatricians who are not pro breastfeeding. Of course they're pro breastfeeding, but should you ask about how much hands on guidance you will be able to receive in the office, for instance, are their knowledgeable nurses or even a certified lactation consultant on staff. Because breastfeeding is the natural process that doesn't always come naturally, so it depends how much trouble people

are having. And I have found that the nurses at the huspital I'm affiliated with have just become better and better and better, and they have great lactation consultants. So we really like to make sure before we actually they walk out of the hospital that they really at least have seen someone who really can get them to latch, and that they feel at least like they can latch

that baby before they get home. Now, sometimes it goes off the rails once you're home, right the hospital, everything seems to be fine, and you get home and you can't latch her baby, and all bets off when the mail comes in right right, yes, exactly, and then you're

dealing with all of those things. So um, when they come in a day or two her and we check in and we see how they're going, if they are having a lot of problems, I will make a bunch of suggestions like let's try this position, let's do this, let's try this, maybe pump a few minutes just to pull the nipple out and then stop and put the baby on, and we give them lots of things they can try There are some lactation consultants that we work

closely with and they always give them their card. Nowadays, they do a lot of virtual visits, but there are those cases where they might need like up close hands on just to get the baby on and then they back away and have their masks on and stand back, and that's very short and probably low risk, and they're very careful. On the flip side, say mom is planning to for whatever reason, formula feed, should she mention that just to get sort of a gauge of whether she

might be judged for that decision. Definitely should. I mean, hopefully they're not being judged for that. We understand there are certain personal decisions. For some people. That's a very personal decision. Some can't rest feed because they have medical reasons or they're on medications, or they've had surgeries on their breast that it's not gonna work, and they know that and it's fine, you know, and we definitely help

them through it. And some women just really don't like the idea, or they're going back to work in two weeks,

so there's a lot of reasons. So no judge. So you want to find a pediatrician who is supportive of whatever you decide to do ultimately, whether it's breastfeed for sure, time a long time now, nutrition and supplements, Right, if you have strong feelings about that, is that something you should talk to the pediatrician about for sure, because there are a lot of them, and you're gonna hear a lot of things, and there are only certain ones that

really we feel are safe to use wild breastfeeding, because there's no studies on the impact of any of these on newborn babies, So there's a lot we don't know, And you certainly don't want to risk anything any kind of danger of toxic the allergic reaction, anything like that. So you definitely don't want to take something without checking with your doctor completely. And I think it's just probably good to get all of these issues on the table.

You don't want a parent to hold back about anything. No, definitely, definitely. Okay, So you've covered the nuts and bolts of what is important to look for in a pediatrician, But then there are some intangibles, right, don't you think for Emma it was so important to have a doctor who wasn't an alarmist um and so her non alarmists obstetrician referred her to you a non alarmists pediatrician who just as importantly was able to take her concerns seriously while also offering reassurance.

For me, it was all about empathy and a sense of humor. I feel like a sense of humor takes parents far and pediatricians far in the relationship listening. I was just gonna say, it's exactly like my my little list is like, a sense of humor definitely helps. Listening skills are super important, and also being able to give

the parent perspective too. You know, it's super important to go look and even sometimes from my own experience with my son's I'll even go, look, Luke broke his arm in multiple places and we had to have surgery and they had to put a ran or whatever, and we got through it. And I've been there and this is gonna be fine, and this is what we're gonna do, or whatever it was. I'm able to reassure that it's it's gonna get better, it's gonna go wait. I promise you.

You know, so, is that actually something you should put on your checklist like that? The pediatrician is also a mom or a dad You know, it's interesting because I have friends who practice in one runs a clinic in York and he doesn't have kids. H he's you know, fabulous, you know, brilliant and fabulous, so like you can't. It's funny you think that, oh, well they have to have children,

but not necessarily so interesting. But I think the perspective is often really helpful because you've been in the trenches and world perspective, like, remember, there's this many millions of kids who have done this or been through this or whatever and they're fine now. So yeah, what about exam table manner? Like that's going to be super hard to judge, you know, until your your baby is on the table. So what would you look for? You know, it is

hard to tell. But I think when you do do the interview, like you said, if you can get a video one that at least it's helpful. I mean, I like to talk to the babies. That's how I can do my part of my developmental assessment is I just let them stare at me and see what happens, you know, and and the back and forth with the baby and I dangle my step and so I kind of spend

time with them. So I can see if they're reaching and grabbing, if they're trying to roll for things, and and just staring at the baby is important to let them look at your face. And I watched them, and I watched their eye contact and the social skills. So and you know what, as you and I know what is better for a baby's social and language development than people talking to them eye contact, singing, talking, narrating your day. Right, So I also believe in mom gut and I feel

it's important for doctors to respect it. Remember when Emma had lenox with the local site was infected and she had the mom got something wasn't right, and she persevered and sure enough he ended up very rare case, but ended up, you know, with a staff infection. So what are your feelings on mom cut. Obviously it's not gonna be a but right. I think that it's very different with first baby Mama and third baby momat too. But we know that and that's fine, but we always want

to address it whatever the concern is. You know, at least take it seriously and say, you know what, I see why you're saying that, or you feel this way. But here's X, Y and Z to explain why this is okay, or you know what, you're absolutely right, let's do this like you're right, I think the formula isn't agreeing with the baby, and let's take the poop for blood or you know, so you at least do something to address it, and sometimes just to alleviate those worries

and concerns. And most of the time the baby is fine, vast majority of time, but when in doubt, check it out. It's just better. Now, it's better. And that actually brings me to my final point. The way I see it, the relationship with your pediatrician, just like your obie or your midwife, should be a partnership. So you as parents will contribute what you know best, and that's your baby.

And first time parents out there all saying, what do you mean, I don't know anything about my baby, But in fact, you see your baby every day, every night, and so you will get to know your baby, and you will know your baby best. And then the pediatrician contributes to that partnership what he or she knows best, and that's all the medical expertise and experience, and then you put that together and and it's a beautiful thing. But what's your best advice for building a good relationship

with the pediatrician that you do choose. I think listening on both sides is good, you know, I think that's important. I think that make ensure that you do ask your questions and that they are willing to answer them so that you don't feel brushed off or rushed is good. And also, you know, on the on the parents side, you know, making sure that you know you show up on time for your appointments and that you kind of follow a lot of the stuff that we suggest that

will actually help you. And if you disagree, I want to know, you know, I'll be if or if you tried it and it didn't work, fine, let's talk about it and make clean b So communication that's the key to any good relationship, including the relationship between parents and pediatrician. And you will spend almost as much time with your pediatrician as you will with your partner, so you want to make this relationship work. So I want to thank you Dr Crosby for joining us and walking us through

how to find the best pediatrician. Thank you, thanks for having me say love my baby love. I need you, Oh how I need you. Thanks for listening remember, I'm always here for you. What to Expect is always here for you. We're all in this together. For more on what you heard on today's episode, visit what to Expect dot com slash podcast. You can also check out What to Expect when You're Expecting, What to Expect the First Year, and the What to Expect app. And we want to

hear from you. Connect with us on our community message board or on our social media. You can find me at Heidie Murkoff and Emma at Emma Being w t E and of course at What to Expect. Baby Love is performed by Riley Biterer. What to Expect is a production of I Heart Radio. From more shows from I Heart Radio check out the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. In my Arms right, don't You Stay? Knija Kneeda, Baby Love, Baby Low