Whether you visit the pediatrician’s office for a routine appointment or because of a specific health concern, you’ll want to get the most out of your visit. You may not see your child’s pediatrician very often, so make sure you use your appointment wisely. Here are five top tips to help you get the most out of your visit to the pediatrician’s office:

1. Be prepared

You simply won’t get as much out of the appointment if you’re not prepared. You probably have all kinds of questions you want to ask, but you’re likely to forget during the appointment unless you take written notes. It may sound a bit over the top, but your pediatrician will be relieved to see you taking the appointment seriously. List all of your concerns and start with the most pressing question. Remember, doctor’s appointments are only short so you may not get through everything on your list. If you don’t take a list of questions, you’re likely to forget on the day and end up feeling frustrated later.

2. Give background

A big part of your pediatrician’s job is listening. She needs to listen to and address your concerns as well as listening to the information you give her about your child. She needs to know as much as possible. She needs to know about family health problems as well as your child’s diet and lifestyle. Don’t be afraid of overloading the pediatrician with information, she’s used to filtering through for the bits she really needs to know. Make sure you answer her questions with as detailed answers as possible and make sure you are giving her the full picture.

3. Ask questions

Your pediatrician spent years studying at medical school, you probably didn’t, so nobody’s expecting you to know all the same things. If the pediatrician uses medical jargon you don’t understand or refers to health problems you’ve never heard of, don’t be afraid to ask for clarification. Your pediatrician wants you to understand exactly what she’s telling you, so double check that you’ve understood it all before leaving. Don’t be afraid to ask for more information if you think the pediatrician is skipping things, your pediatrician may even print off some written info for you to take home.

4. Focus

A trip to the pediatrician’s office isn’t likely to be a particularly calming experience. If your child is poorly, you’re both likely to be short on sleep and grumpy, so it’s not going to be a walk in the park. Your pediatrician needs your full attention, however, and she can’t do her job properly without it. She needs to make sure you’re giving her all the background information and that you’re taking in what she’s telling you. If you have other children, it might be worth leaving them with a sitter or at least taking something in to distract them so you can concentrate during the appointment.

5. Be forceful

Sometimes, moms just know something is wrong with their child, even when the doctor’s diagnosis doesn’t back it up. Remember, you know your child better than anybody and if you think something is up, it might well be. If you have a gut feeling that something isn’t right, don’t be afraid to push this with your doctor. Sometimes, a mother’s worry can be just the nudge a pediatrician needs to order that extra test or investigate further.

Do you have any top tips to share for getting the most out of your pediatrician’s appointment?

Written by Fiona (@Fiona_Peacock), mother, writer and lover of all things baby related.

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a trained medical doctor. Health & Parenting Ltd disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information, which is provided to you on a general information basis only and not as a substitute for personalized medical advice. All contents copyright © Health & Parenting Ltd 2016. All rights reserved.

If you’re feeling unwell, you may be worried about whether it’s safe to continue breastfeeding your baby. Many mamas worry that perhaps they shouldn’t feed their baby when they’re ill. However, in reality, there are very few instances in which illness may require you to stop breastfeeding your child (e.g. HIV, active tuberculosis, HTLV-1, HTLV-2).

Assuming you aren’t suffering from any of these conditions, you should be fine to continue breastfeeding your baby for the duration of the illness.

Will breastfeeding make my baby sick?

If you’re suffering from a cold or flu illness, you may worry about whether your breast milk will contain the virus. It won’t, so don’t worry. Not only that, because your milk contains the antibodies your body is busy producing to fight the infection, your baby will actually get this extra boost of immunity to protect her from the illness.

Do I need to take any precautions?

If you are prescribed medication to treat the illness, make sure you tell the doctor that you’re breastfeeding. Your doctor will need to check that the medication he or she prescribes is suitable for breastfeeding mothers. Most medication is suitable for breastfeeding mothers, but it’s always worth checking just in case.

If you have a sickness and diarrhoea bug, you need to make sure you’re drinking plenty of water. It’s easy to become dehydrated, especially when you’re breastfeeding, so make sure you keep your fluid levels up.

To minimize the risk of your baby getting ill, take the usual precautions. Wash your hands often, cover your mouth when you sneeze or cough, and try not to kiss your baby near the mouth.

If you’re feeling rubbish, it’s important to take care of yourself and allow yourself time to rest. If you’re really unwell, you might need somebody else to stay home and help with the baby. That will give you the opportunity to get some sleep between feeds, and put someone else in charge of diaper changes for a little while. If your partner is unable to take the day off work, ask a family member or friend to pop round for a few hours and help out.

Remember to keep breastfeeding on demand, a drastic reductions in the number of feeds each day could begin to affect your supply.

Written by Fiona (@Fiona_Peacock), mother, writer and lover of all things baby related.

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a trained medical doctor. Health & Parenting Ltd disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information, which is provided to you on a general information basis only and not as a substitute for personalized medical advice. All contents copyright © Health & Parenting Ltd 2016. All rights reserved.