Expecting

Since 1977 our practice has been seeing patients as newborns, following many of them through adolescence, and even enjoying the gratification and privilege of seeing many next-generation children of former patients. From our first encounter, we set out to establish long-term relationship with our families with the goal of providing a medical home with guidance on the whole spectrum of infant and child care. We don’t regard any questions or concerns as “dumb” ones. All parents—even physicians– start out as new mothers and fathers.

We realize that expectant parents seek various sources of information, particularly personal recommendations from friends and family, in seeking their pediatrician. They often wish to meet a few doctors to obtain some perceptions of compatibility of both practice “philosophy” and physician personality. We offer perspective parents convenient and complimentary prenatal visits in our office, with the opportunity to get acquainted and ask questions about baby care in general or our office approach. I am happy to schedule this as a virtual, telehealth interview, an alternative that makes it much more convenient and comfortable for a family to visit more than one prospective doctor for their new baby.

Both infant development throughout pregnancy and the birth event itself represent processes of bewildering complexity and unique personal emotional experience. Many obstetricians will say that they never cease to appreciate the “miracle” that occurs with the birth of every infant, and contemplative pediatricians who attend these newborns are likely to agree. Although he may not have been referring specifically to fetal development and birth, the remarkable twelfth century physician Maimonides lucidly observed that, “a natural event is a miracle which has the misfortune of occurring too often.” For all new parents, this attitude is an excellent springboard to appreciate the new progeny with which they’ve been blessed and the exhilaration of development that follows. 

When your baby is born at an affiliated hospital, simply tell your obstetrician and the hospital staff that you have chosen Dr. David Cotlar as your child's pediatrician. Our office will be notified of your baby's birth by the hospital staff. Upon discharge, please contact our office about scheduling your baby's first visit to our office.