Keeping your young children healthy is our top priority at Twickenham Pediatrics. Our physicians will monitor your child's growth and development while he or she reaches developmental milestones.
From routine checkups to sick visits, Drs. DeSimone, Dawson, and White will give your child the care he or she needs.
While the primary purpose of well child visits is to keep your children healthy, parents can also benefit from these appointments.
During your child's checkup, our doctors will provide you with pamphlets and tips about what you can expect from the next stages of your child's development, such as behavioral changes and steps you need to take to make him or her safer.
Childhood is a time of rapid growth and development. Children have the most well-child visits when they are younger because development is the fastest during these years. To be prepared write down your questions and concerns and bring them with you. This will help you get the most out of the visit.
Each visit includes a complete physical exam of your child. At this exam, we will check your child's growth and development in order to find or prevent problems. We record the child's height, weight, and head circumference on a growth chart. This chart remains part of the child's permanent pediatric medical record. Talking about your child's growth is a good place to begin a discussion about your child's general health.
Hearing, vision, and other screening tests will be part of some visits, depending on your child's age.
Even if your child is healthy, well-child visits are a good time to focus on your child's wellness. Talking about ways to improve care and prevent problems helps keep your child healthy.
At your well-child visits, you will get information on topics such as:
We will also talk about other wellness topics such as family relationship issues, school, and access to community services. If your child wants to participate in a sport, activity, or go to summer camp, they may need an annual physical in order to participate - the annual well-child visit will allow us to fill out the needed paperwork for these activities.
After your baby is born, the next visit should be 2 to 3 days after bringing the baby home or when the baby is 2 to 4 days old (for all babies who are released from a hospital before they are 2 days old).
After that, it is recommended that visits occur at the following ages:
Vaccines "teach" your body how to defend itself when germs, such as viruses or bacteria, invade it:
For a few weeks after birth, babies have some protection from germs that cause diseases. This protection is passed from their mother through the placenta before birth. After birth, this natural protection goes away.
Vaccines help protect against many diseases that used to be much more common. Examples include tetanus, diphtheria, mumps, measles, pertussis (whooping cough), meningitis, and polio. Many of these infections can cause serious or life-threatening illnesses and may lead to life-long health problems. Because of vaccines, many of these illnesses are now rare.
About Us
With over 50 years of combined experience, Twickenham Pediatrics provides individualized patient care to the community of North Alabama.
Your child needs a pediatrician who cares for your health and well-being. So contact us today and schedule an appointment. We provide a FREE prenatal visit. At this current time we are no longer taking newborns.
All of our physicians are board certified by the American Board of Pediatrics and are Fellows of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
NCQA works with clinicians and practices to make sure they follow industry-leading best practices and guidelines, so patients get the best care at the right time. Practices that earn NCQA Recognition show they are committed to providing high-quality, patient-centered care.
