@kimberly1988 I would at least call and ask why they want your baby to come in again. We did two follow ups with our NICU at 6 months post discharge and 12 months post discharge. At that point they told me we didn’t need to go back because my little guy was developing on track for his adjusted age and we were enrolled in an early intervention program where he was being followed by the appropriate professionals.
Is NICU follow up necessary when seeing a pediatrician a few times a year?
- Thread starter kimberly1988
- Start date
@kimberly1988 We had a 35 weeker that spent a little over a week in the nicu with breathing complications and they never mentioned follow ups. He’s now 2. We just see the pediatrician.
remysheppard
New member
@kimberly1988 My daughter was born at 36 weeks and we were referred to both Early Intervention and a developmental pediatrician when discharged, because she had hypotonia and was “at risk of developmental delays”.
She’s now just over two and we’re seeing the developmental pediatrician and in EI still. I have mixed feelings about developmental peds, because it feels like from the start they’ve basically just been looking to see if she has an ASD. And to be fair, she might, but the visits can be a bit demoralizing.
However, that said, Early Intervention can only evaluate and provide services for developmental delays, but they can’t/won’t diagnose the cause of those delays. The other thing is, if there is concern that there are developmental delays, developmental pediatricians are booking way out, so if there’s the slightest chance you actually do need to see them, you could have a long wait if you’re not already a patient being seen on a specific schedule.
Obviously you know your baby best. Our daughter is just over 2 years old and by 19 months, it was obvious some of her delays were persistent, I’m not sure I would have kept the developmental appointments otherwise.
But also, insurance sucks. We have good insurance and they still suck. We spent just under a month in the NICU and at least twice a year I get a letter from our insurance basically saying, “you sure this kid can’t qualify for Medicaid?”
She’s now just over two and we’re seeing the developmental pediatrician and in EI still. I have mixed feelings about developmental peds, because it feels like from the start they’ve basically just been looking to see if she has an ASD. And to be fair, she might, but the visits can be a bit demoralizing.
However, that said, Early Intervention can only evaluate and provide services for developmental delays, but they can’t/won’t diagnose the cause of those delays. The other thing is, if there is concern that there are developmental delays, developmental pediatricians are booking way out, so if there’s the slightest chance you actually do need to see them, you could have a long wait if you’re not already a patient being seen on a specific schedule.
Obviously you know your baby best. Our daughter is just over 2 years old and by 19 months, it was obvious some of her delays were persistent, I’m not sure I would have kept the developmental appointments otherwise.
But also, insurance sucks. We have good insurance and they still suck. We spent just under a month in the NICU and at least twice a year I get a letter from our insurance basically saying, “you sure this kid can’t qualify for Medicaid?”
@kimberly1988 I have 4 nicu babies. I have never once gone to a nicu follow up appt. If your seeing their pediatrician I don’t see the point
@kimberly1988 I’ve never even heard of NICU follow ups until now. But maybe that’s because my LO was late preemie at 36&1? We were discharged to our pediatrician.
@kimberly1988 Can you get a referral to an early intervention program instead? In many cases early intervention home visit providers will be more helpful than milestone checkups. They can screen for delays while helping to address any delays and more carefully tracking progress than a pediatrician since they will see your child in person every week for up to three years.
@kimberly1988 Nicu follow up wasn’t even a option available to us so I’m not sure what all it entails, we transferred all care to our pediatrician at discharge. He referred us to a pediatric pulmonologist and cardiologist who we see once a year for some of my sons long term he’s complications but we haven’t been back to the hospital since discharge. My son was born at 25 weeks and our pediatrician has been fantastic. If your happy with your pediatrician’s care and don’t have any concerns and your pediatrician is confident in their own knowledge I’m not sure You need Nicu follow up
@kimberly1988 Our follow up was a complete waste of time. The office people suck, everyone is rude and all they do is tell you everything your baby can’t do. Which in some instances is fine, but ours is completely on track with his corrected age and they were just telling us about all the milestones he’s not meeting for his actual age. He’s was born at 25 weeks….and just turned 1. His corrected age was only 6 months at the time and they were taking like he was about to be 10 months. We will not be going to the next one.
I feel like with that cost, if I were you I would follow with your pediatrician and call it good.
I feel like with that cost, if I were you I would follow with your pediatrician and call it good.
@kimberly1988 My daughter was born at 25+5 and I've never heard of a NICU follow up, she did have to see a development specialist every 6 months the first year and then just every year until she was 3 to check development but that was only my specialist co-pay of $45.00.
kimberly1988
New member
@mozingo27 Yes this is exactly what it is. They basically evaluate her every 6 months to check for any delays. If there’s concern they go to a specialist.
@kimberly1988 I wonder it it's so expensive because it's run by the hospital, if you could see an outside development specialist I wonder if it would be cheaper. Maybe they do different tests but the development specialist she went to spent about an hour having her do stuff and asking me questions and then let me know where she was developing wise but again it was just the regular co-pay I pay any specialist.
@kimberly1988 Our NICU has this program. They go back in March when they’ll be 19 months old. Now I’m starting to wonder how long the program is for and if we should opt out if they’re hitting all their milestones.
@kimberly1988 My nicu follow ups. we’re crucial for catching things before they escalate into bigger issues. I had an amazing pediatrician but she never would have caught the nuances that the nicu follow up team did. Our team included neonatologist, attending, nursing, OT, PT, SP specialists. Getting therapies early for your child can also make a huge difference in their success later in school and in life.
@kimberly1988 My 2.5 month old still goes back to the children’s hospital to see her specialists. She was in two different NICU’s after birth flown by helicopter to each one. We have to see the Surgeon, Nephrologist, Urologist, and the Neurologist. Some are more spaced out then the others, her nephrologist through her pediatrician has us get blood work which now jumped to every month before it was once every two weeks.
bluerose31
New member
@kimberly1988 My son is 14 months old. Born at 25.6 and they didn’t even call me until a couple weeks ago to set up a NICU follow up 
I honestly wouldn’t pay that kind of money even if there was an issue. I don’t really think there’s anything that his pediatrician, therapists and other specialists wouldn’t already catch. With just a pediatrician I still wouldn’t go if everything is on track.
I honestly wouldn’t pay that kind of money even if there was an issue. I don’t really think there’s anything that his pediatrician, therapists and other specialists wouldn’t already catch. With just a pediatrician I still wouldn’t go if everything is on track.