What is a well-child exam?
A well-child exam is just like an adult’s annual physical but tailored for the needs of children.
Monitoring the growth and development of your child is an important way of making sure they’re healthy and growing normally, and the well-child exam allows Dr. Marak and the team to assess your child at crucial stages of their development.
What happens during a well-child exam?
Dr. Marak starts the well-child exam by putting your child at their ease, so they don’t feel too scared or intimidated by the process. She checks your child’s medical history and previous well-child exam reports, and asks you and your child about how they’re feeling and whether there are any problems.
Next is the physical exam, where Dr. Marak carries out the following tests and procedures:
- Blood pressure measurement
- Weight and height measurements
- Head circumference
- Body mass index measurement (BMI)
- Listening to the heart and lungs
- Hearing and vision tests
- Examining eyes, ears, teeth and tongue, feet and hands
- Checking the internal organs by feeling the abdomen
- Blood and urine tests to check organ function
Your child may also have specific immunizations at the well-child exam, according to the schedule drawn up by the CDC and American Academy of Pediatricians.
What is my role in the well-child exam?
Filling out the questionnaire designed by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is very helpful in monitoring your child’s health and development, so if you can, complete the age-appropriate form and bring it along to the well-child exam.
Some children are confident and unphased by a visit to the pediatrician, while others become shy and reserved. Your role is to support your child through the process, and they will need you to be present during the exam when you can give them emotional support and help answer questions.
The well-child exam is also a chance for you as a parent to ask any questions or voice any concerns you have about your child, including any behavior that seems out of the ordinary, or any problems you’ve noticed at home.
Having a routine checkup is the most effective way of ensuring your child stays healthy through to adulthood, so book your well-child exam by calling Ross Bridge Medical Center Pediatrics today, or use the online tool to schedule an appointment.
