Knowing When to Call Your Infant’s Doctor

A first-time parent is not always certain when their infant’s fussiness is normal and when the child needs to be seen by their pediatrician. Most new parents are over-cautious, calling their baby’s doctor for even the slightest change in behavior. To help identify when medical attention is really necessary, The Nemours Foundation, an organization dedicated to improving children’s health, came up with a list of signs that will alert a parent to call their infant’s doctor.

Contact your child’s pediatrician immediately if:

• Your infant aged 2 months or younger is experiencing a fever of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or higher.
• Your infant has rapid and strenuous breathing.
• Your infant appears dehydrated. Signs of this include crying without tears, no urination for longer than six hours, a depressed soft spot on the head or sunken eyes.
• Your infant vomits often and forcefully (past spitting up).
• There is blood in your baby’s diaper or vomit, or if your infant has recurrent diarrhea.
• It is difficult to wake your infant up, or your child is extremely inactive, severely drowsy, or not alert.
  

If an infant is experiencing a medical problem, a delay in treatment can have severe consequences. If your child has suffered an injury that may have been preventable, call or e-mail the birth injury attorneys at Silberstein, Awad & Miklos, P.C. today. One of our experienced lawyers will evaluate your case for free. Our firm has helped clients with Bronx birth injury, Brooklyn birth injury, Queens birth injury and Long Island birth injury cases.

Call us toll-free, 1-877-ASK4SAM and visit www.ask4sam.net