In Brief
- Certain emergencies leave no time to call your baby’s doctor. Instead you should take your child directly to a local emergency department, or call 911.
- It’s normal for babies to get sick. If their signs and symptoms gradually worsen or persist over a couple of days, however, it’s important to contact the pediatrician or family doctor.
- Trust your instincts. If you think you should call the doctor, then call. It’s important to have an open line of communication with your physician to help assure your baby has a happy and healthy life.
Your baby has a temperature of 101 degrees. Do you wait to see if it subsides, or do you speed to the hospital right away?
If you are the parent of a baby, making quick decisions about his or her medical care may be a regular occurrence. Because your baby can’t tell you when something hurts, normal fussiness and mild illness can be difficult to distinguish from more serious problems.
“It’s a difficult balance for new and experienced parents,” says Gerald Kolski, M.D., chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at Crozer-Chester Medical Center. “Parents try to avoid being overprotective, but they’re also afraid that something can really be wrong with their child.”
True Emergencies
Certain emergencies leave no time to call your baby’s doctor. Instead, you should take your child directly to a local emergency department, or call 911. True medical emergencies include:
- Cuts that don’t stop bleeding or appear to require stitches
- Poisonings
- Seizures
- Labored breathing
- Unresponsiveness
- Head injures
- Sudden lethargy or paralysis
- Choking.
Routine Illnesses
It’s normal for babies to get sick. If their signs and symptoms gradually worsen or persist over a couple of days, however, it’s important to contact the pediatrician or family doctor.
“Infants up to two months old are the most fragile age group,” says Richard Kaplan, M.D., chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at Delaware County Memorial Hospital. “Within minutes to hours, these little ones can become very compromised.”
According to Kaplan and Kolski, it’s essential that parents contact their doctor immediately if their newborn has a fever of 100.4# F, stops eating, cries uncontrollably, has a red belly button or develops white patches on the tongue and inside the mouth.
Below are also signs and symptoms that require medical attention for all babies:
- Changes in appetite – if your baby refuses two consecutive feedings.
- Changes in mood, especially if your baby is lethargic or unusually difficult to rouse.
- Changes in skin color – many newborns develop jaundice, a yellowish discoloring of the skin during the first days of life.
- Diarrhea – if your baby’s stool is loose or watery for six to eight diaper changes.
- Vomiting – if your baby spits up a large portion of every feeding or begins to vomit forcefully.
- Dehydration – a serious side effect of diarrhea and vomiting. Symptoms include no tears or wet diapers.
Crozer-Keystone physicians agree, as a general rule, to trust your intuition. If you think you should call the doctor, then call. It’s important to have an open line of communication with your physician to help assure your baby has a happy and healthy life.
To find a pediatrician who’s right for you and to make an appointment, call 1-800-CK-HEALTH (1-800-254-3258).