Want to keep track of the growth and healthy well-being of your baby? Keep up with your baby’s infant health checkups to ensure the health and safety of your baby!
Introduction
As a new parent, you should know that one of the major steps to ensuring the health and well-being of your baby is to keep up with their regular health checkups and time-to-time consultations with their pediatrician. Infant wellness checkups are essential for your baby and their future health and growth; they ensure the end-to-end wellness of your baby and record physical milestones like weight and height, etc. while also staying up-to-date with their vaccination schedule.
Understanding Infant wellness health checkups
Infant health checkups are detailed child health assessments conducted from time to time to ensure healthy growth and both physical and mental development of your baby. It gives you a complete picture of your baby’s inner growth and development to ensure their safety and detect early risks of potential diseases, etc., if any.
There is a specific schedule with intervals to be followed for these wellness checkups to ensure your baby’s growth stability is right on track. Here is a timeline that is followed:
- The first week after being born: It is the first health checkup of the baby after being born. It is done to make sure the baby is feeding well, gaining well, and getting used to living outside the womb.
- 1 month: On a 1-month checkup, the pediatrician will check the baby’s development and it is a time to address concerns about the child’s feeding habits and sleep patterns.
- 2 months: In this visit, your baby will receive their first vaccinations, those for polio, Hib, and others.
- 4 months: The pediatrician will start to address many milestones by now including weight, height, motor skills, etc., and administer more vaccinations.
- 6 months: Around this time your baby will be ready to be introduced to solid foods, so along with vaccinations and growth milestones you can discuss eating habits and what nutritional foods to introduce.
- 9 months: By the 9-month checkup, there will be more milestones to evaluate, like growth development, motor skills, speech development, and social behavior.
- 12 months: The checkup around their first birthday is important and there are several milestones to check around this time. The pediatrician may advise you to shift from breastfeeding to whole foods to fulfill your child’s nutritional needs.
Main Components to evaluate in infant health checkups
1. Physical examinations: Many physical aspects are examined in baby wellness checkups and they are kept track of, like:
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- Weight
- Height
- Head circumference
- Physical development
- Muscle tone
- Bone structure
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2. Vaccinations: Many vaccinations are given to the child in different stages of their checkups in a pediatric health schedule to prevent the risk of several diseases and immunity-boosting. Some of these are:
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- Hepatitis B: The first dose of this vaccine is given at birth and the second dose is given after 1-2 months.
- D Tap: This is an essential vaccine and protects the child from many infections. This vaccine is given in 3 doses in the first year after the baby is born.
- Rotavirus: This vaccine is given in 2-3 doses along with oral drops in 4-month, 6-month, and 9-month checkups.
- Influenza: This vaccine is given in annual doses to children above 6 months of age.
- Hepatitis A: The first dose of this vaccine is given at 12 months and the second at 18 months.
- MMR: This vaccine protects against measles, mumps, and rubella, and this vaccine is given in 2 doses after 12 months of age.
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3. Developmental milestones: Many milestones are evaluated by the pediatrician in these child health assessments. Here are some milestones to evaluate:
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- Motor skills
- Speech development
- Social behavior
- Muscle reflexes
- Physical strength and movements
How to prepare for the infant health checkup
Preparing for your baby’s wellness checkup is easy and essential to ensure complete care. You may follow the points below for effective preparation:
- Keep track of growth and milestones and mention them accurately to the pediatrician.
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Take all the essentials of your child, like:
- Baby records
- Warm water for baby
- Baby formula or something to feed them if it takes long.
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Prepare questions and concerns to ask the pediatrician. Common concerns of parents are:
- Feeding patterns
- Sleep habits
- Crying
- Teething
Conclusion
Infant health checkups provide you with complete care of your child and their regular health analyses to ensure they are growing safely and healthy. It evaluates the essential developments of your child and is a great way to feel your baby developing and keep track of their essential milestones. Physical examinations, vaccinations, and milestone tracking all together provide you with complete surety of your baby being well and good. It is a great way to have fun and enjoy parenting time with your baby.
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FAQs
Q1. What is an infant wellness checkup?
Ans: Infant health checkups are detailed child health assessments conducted from time to time to ensure healthy growth and both physical and mental development of your baby.
Q2. What if I miss a checkup?
Ans: It is important to follow the recommended schedule of checkups. You should not miss any of them, but if you miss any appointment, you should immediately contact your pediatrician and schedule another one.
Q3. How often do I need to take my baby to the doctor for wellness checkups?
Ans: Checkups for your baby are usually held at 1, 2, 4, 6, 9, and 12 months of age.
Q4. What happens during an infant wellness checkup?
Ans: The pediatrician conducts a physical examination, provides vaccinations and checks for essential developmental milestones.
Q5. What should I bring to my baby’s checkup?
Ans: You should bring your baby’s medical records, any related concerns, and baby essentials to feed them.
