Pediatric Well Exams

Pediatric well exams are essential for ensuring necessary preventative care and tracking growth and development. Establishing a strong relationship with your child’s pediatrician is the first step to a healthy life.

The American Academy of Pediatricians (AAP) has developed comprehensive health guidelines for well-child care. The schedule is known as the “periodicity schedule.” It outlines when specific assessments and screenings are recommended from infancy through adolescence. It is a yearly schedule after three years of age, with approximately a dozen other exams throughout the first three years.

Wellness exams start as early as 3 to 5 days old. Your pediatrician starts charting weight, identifies possible jaundice, and can help with feeding issues in the first couple of weeks after being born. Further exams are scheduled at specified intervals (1, 2, 4, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 24, and 30 months). All visits continue tracking weight, growth, and development. Dr. Brawner will ask about baby milestones, learning, and social behaviors.

These exams are not just about weighing the baby, though. If you have any questions, this is your time to discuss them with the doctor. Feeding problems, sleeping problems, or anything that might worry you …. We are here to help. We’ve heard all the questions.