Baby & Toddler

Our baby's doctor explains everything very fast, and I understand only half

sunny_spool_506

My daughter is 3 months. My mother went back to Cuttack, so now I take her for check-ups and vaccines myself. My husband's office timing doesn't allow him to come every time. The doctor is good, but he speaks very fast, mostly English with some Telugu words, and there are always many people waiting outside. I nod and come home, and then I am not sure about the medicine timing or what he said about her feeding. I feel shy to ask him to repeat. How do you all manage this? Is it okay to ask a doctor to write things down?

6 comments

  • orchid_pebble_6715

    Ours talks fast too. We started asking at the end, 'so the main thing is…?' and repeating back what we understood. If we've got it wrong he corrects it, and that's usually the most useful thirty seconds of the visit.

  • ochre_kettle_623

    Write your questions on your phone before you go, in whatever language is easiest for you, and read them out one by one. Our daughter is a teenager now, but I still remember walking out of those visits having forgotten half of what I meant to ask. Doctors are used to lists.

  • banyan_sketch_7742

    It is completely okay to ask. In my work I meet many parents who nod because the room is busy, and the professional usually has no idea they were lost. One simple line works: 'Please, can you write the medicine and the timing for me?' Most will do it on the prescription itself. ❤

  • cinnamon_sandal_7899

    For my chinni's vaccines I took a small notebook every time and asked the nurse outside to write the dose and the next date also. The nurses are less rushed than the doctor and very patient. Don't feel shy, you are the mother, you have every right to understand.

    • mango_pebble_7571

      The nurse is a good idea. In our time it was always the nurse who explained properly while the doctor signed. Eighteen years later I suspect that hasn't changed much.

    • hazel_notebook_1004

      Replying to @mango_pebble_7571

      Up with my son at 3 so reading this. Same at our clinic in Pune, the nurse goes through it again slowly if I ask. And it's fine to call the clinic the next day with a question. I did that twice in the first few months and nobody minded.

  • mint_window_6260

    If English and Telugu are both hard, ask at the clinic whether any of the doctors speaks Hindi. Many do around Gachibowli. You can also ask if they have a number for small doubts. Our paediatrician's clinic answers feeding questions on chat, which saved us a lot of trips.

  • coral_tiffin_2872

    Small thing that helped us: the vaccination card itself has the next due date. Keep it and the prescription in one plastic folder and take a photo of both before you leave. When you're tired at night and can't remember the dose, the photo is right there 🙂

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