Your need for care doesn’t stop once you deliver the baby. Every woman should have at least one checkup after giving birth called a postpartum checkup. During this visit, your doctor will make sure you are healing well, will screen you for postpartum depression, and will address any questions you may have.
Your baby also should begin having regular checkups, called well‑child or well‑baby visits, soon after birth. Medicaid covers all of these visits for your covered newborn at no cost to you. During these visits, your child’s doctor will monitor your child’s health and development, offer recommended and life‑saving vaccinations, and answer questions about your baby.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends regular well‑child visits and following the vaccination schedule, because vaccines are the safest way of preventing disease, disability, and death in children. During well-child checkups, the doctor will check to see if your child is hitting the expected developmental milestones for his or her age. You can learn more about the milestones your baby should hit through age 5 by reviewing this checklist.
