Newborns

The arrival of your new baby is not only a joyous event, but also a major parental responsibility. There’s a lot you need to do to prepare for your newborn’s parental priority when it comes to your little one's health.

At Children’s Medical Center, we help make your transition to parenthood as efficient and simple as possible, for you and your family.

Our doctors visit and round on newborns at Mease Countryside Hospital but we welcome babies from all local hospitals! Our pediatric services for newborns include:

• Circumcision – If you wish to have your baby circumcised by one of our board-certified pediatricians, please let the nursery staff or Children’s Medical Center physician who sees your baby in the hospital, know of your preference. We recommend that the circumcision be done as soon as it is possible after birth, preferably within the first seven days.
• Frenotomy – Some babies are born “tongue-tied” – a condition in which frenulum (the fold of skin under the tongue or between the lip and gum) is unusually short or tight, impairing the infant’s ability to breastfeed. To correct this condition, the highly skilled physicians at Children’s Medical Center perform a frenotomy, a quick and painless procedure that involves holding the tongue up toward the roof the mouth, and cutting through the white, fascia-like tissue that runs parallel with, and close to, the tongue. As a result, breastfeeding is significantly improved.
• Vaccinations and Immunizations -- To protect your newborn from diseases and infections, the doctors at Children’s Medical Center adhere to the immunization guidelines recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). These include:
• A first dose of Hepatitis B vaccine at birth and a second dose between the ages of one and two months.
• The first dose of Rotavirus (RV) vaccine, DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis), Hib, PCV13, and Inactivated poliovirus by the age of two months.

Comprehensive Pediatric Care for Newborns and Infants in Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida

Following an initial visit, your Children’s Medical Center pediatrician will see your baby regularly until feeding and weight gain are established, and then again at two weeks of age for a second newborn well check.