Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Baby Health Checkup
There are many new responsibilities when you have a baby. One of them is to make sure that your baby gets regular checkups, which are also called well-baby exams. These exams are important in making sure that your baby is growing and developing properly. If there are any problems, they can be caught early, when they may be easier to treat. Your baby's health care provider will let you know how often your baby should get a checkup.
During these checkups, the provider will give your baby a complete physical exam, which includes:
- Checking your baby's height and weight
- Looking at their head, ears, nose, and mouth
- Listening to their heart and lungs
- Testing their hearing and vision (for some visits)
- Checking their reflexes
The provider will ask you about your baby's development. For example, they may ask when the baby started smiling and rolling over. During certain visits, the provider will do developmental and behavioral screening tests.
The provider will use all of this information from the visit to check if your baby is meeting important developmental milestones.
Your baby will also get any needed vaccines and screenings during the exam. And you can ask the provider any questions you might have about how to care for your baby.
You can prepare for your baby's checkups by:
- Making a list of issues and questions you want to discuss with the provider
- Being prepared to answer questions about your baby's behavior and eating and sleeping habits
- Being ready to take notes at the visit
In addition to these checkups, you can contact the provider any time if your baby seems sick or if you are worried about their development.
It sits within Children and Teenagers.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
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Research on Baby Health Checkup
48 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Turkish Version of the BRIEF-Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examination (HINE)Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University
- An Examination of Infants' Microbiome, Nutrition, and Development Study.University of California, Davis
- An Examination of Brown Adipose Tissue and Energy Expenditure in InfantsPennington Biomedical Research Center
- Point-of-Care Ophthalmic Diagnostic Imaging of Retinopathy of PrematurityVanderbilt University Medical Center
- Use of Intranasal Midazolam to Reduce Stress and Procedural Pain in Premature Infants During Routine ROP Examination.Polish Mother Memorial Hospital Research Institute
- Development of Assist Tool for Breast Examination Using the Principle of Ultrasonic SensorSeoul National University Hospital
Research already completed
- Turkish Version of the Hammersmith Neonatal Neurological Examination (HNNE)Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University
- Study on How Parents' Anticipated Choice of a Doctor at the Maternity Hospital Influences the Newborn's First Post-discharge ConsultationCentre Hospitalier Sud Francilien
- The Effect of Breast Milk on Pain and StressEge University
- Effect of Multiple Non-pharmacological Methods for Pain Management During Eye Examination for Retinopathy of Prematurity in Preterm InfantsIstanbul Medeniyet University
- Electron Microscopic Examination of Iris Tissue in BuphthalmosAssiut University
- Breast Milk Odour and Mother's Voice on Pain and ComfortTarsus University
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) Schedule of Well-Child Care VisitsAmerican Academy of Pediatrics
- Visiting The Pediatrician: The First YearAmerican Academy of Pediatrics
- What Can Parents Expect During Their Infant's Well-Child Visits?Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
- Your Child's CheckupsNemours Foundation
Related Issues
- Choosing a Pediatrician for Your New BabyNemours Foundation
- Getting the Most From a Doctor's VisitNemours Foundation
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Physical Examination. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Baby Health Checkup, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.