What if my child is sick or has an emergency after hours?
You should immediately take your child to the emergency room if they have a life-threatening emergency after hours and weekends. In the case of an emergency that is not life-threatening, please call 985-768-1253 for our emergency on-call nurse. Make sure you leave a voice message if no one answers and our on-call nurse will contact you shortly. If you do not receive a callback within 30 minutes, please call the number again.
How often should my child see the pediatrician?
Your child should not only see the pediatrician for an illness. It is also important to schedule well-child-care exams regularly, beginning in infancy. Also called well-care visits or checkups, these routine examinations provide the best opportunity for the doctor to observe the progress of your child's physical and mental growth and development; to counsel and teach parents; to detect problems through screening tests; to provide immunizations, and to get to know one another. Well-care visits are strongly recommended as part of preventive pediatric care.
Well-child visits are also a good time for parents to raise questions and concerns about a child's development, behavior, nutrition, safety and overall well-being.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends this schedule for routine well-care visits:
- 3 to 5 days
- by 1 month
- 2 months
- 4 months
- 6 months
- 9 months
- 12 months
- 15 months
- 18 months
- 24 months
- 30 months
- 3 years
- 4 years
And once every year thereafter for an annual health supervision visit that includes a physical exam as well as a developmental, behavioral, and learning assessment.
Is your office accepting new patients?
Yes, we always welcome new patients. Contact our office at 985-893-8505 for additional information, or request an appointment
online.
A pediatrician
is a medical doctor who specializes in the care of children. Pediatricians have undergone special training in the health and illnesses of infants, teens and young adults, and all of the pediatricians at Pontchartrain Pediatrics are certified by the American Board of Pediatrics.
Pediatricians provide preventive health care for children in good health and medical care for children who are acutely or chronically ill. They also provide parents with support and advice with issues such as growth and development, safety and prevention, nutrition, and emotional wellness to foster a lifetime of good health.
What is the best way to schedule an appointment with your office?
Why does my child need to receive vaccinations?
Immunizations are a series of shots given to children at different ages to help ward off serious, and potentially fatal, childhood diseases. Making sure your child receives immunizations when scheduled is the best way to help protect your child from potentially fatal diseases. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, vaccinations have reduced the number of infections from vaccine-preventable diseases by more than 90%. If you're apprehensive about vaccinations, please do not hesitate to contact our office.
Download the Vaccine Safety Parent Handout:
Vaccine Safety Parent Handout Vaccine Safety Parent Handout (46 KB)
Read the FAQ's published by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) on Childhood Vaccinations:
CDC Childhood Vaccinations FAQ's CDC Childhood Vaccinations FAQ's (401 KB)
