Pediatrics Specialist

What is pediatric medicine?

Pediatric medicine is health care that spans your child’s life, from infancy through adolescence. Pediatric medicine gives you peace of mind, with regular checkups to make sure your child is hitting the right developmental milestones.

Bethel Family Medicine offers a broad array of health care services for children and teens. Pediatric services typically include:

• Well-child exams
• Immunizations
• On-site blood tests
• Nutrition counseling
• Hearing and vision screenings
• School and sports physicals

The practice caters to the unique needs of children and adolescents with health care tailored to each stage of development.

What is a well-child visit?

A well-child visit is a regularly scheduled checkup that focuses on preventive care. Your practitioner at Bethel Family Medicine advises you when you should bring your child in for well-child visits.

Typically, these exams occur more often when your child is very young. You can expect to bring your child in at these ages:

• 1 month
• 2 months
• 4 months
• 6 months
• 9 months
• 12 months
• 15 months
• 18 months
• 24 months
• 30 months

After age 3, well-child exams generally occur once a year.

What happens during a well-child exam?

The Bethel Family Medicine team performs a physical exam to assess the overall health of your child. Your practitioner takes your child’s vital signs and compares your child’s growth against certain benchmarks. These measurements are recorded in your child’s growth chart.

Your visit also may include:

• Hearing, vision, and other screening tests
• Blood tests
• Immunizations

You’ll want to talk with your provider about the recommended schedule of immunizations. Common vaccines your child will receive over time include:

• Chickenpox
• DTaP (tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis)
• Hepatitis A vaccine
• Hepatitis B vaccine
• Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type B)
• HPV (human papillomavirus)
• Meningococcal
• MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella)
• Polio
• Rotavirus
• Shingles

In addition, most children older than 6 months should receive an annual flu shot.

A checkup is an ideal time to focus on your child's overall wellness. If you’ve noticed changes in your child’s behavior or development, a well-child visit is a good opportunity to discuss what you’ve observed.

If you’ve been searching for high-quality pediatric care for your child or teen, call Bethel Family Medicine today or schedule a consultation online.