Dr. Claude with kids

How to Find a Pediatrician in Berlin?

Von Lisa H

Zuletzt aktualisiert am 10 January 2024

Once your baby arrives, you’ll need a pediatrician near you that you can trust and go to for both scheduled checkups as well as adhoc appointments when your child is sick.

As with many things in Berlin, finding a pediatrician is no easy feat. You’ll want to start looking for one before the baby arrives to see if your favorite ones are accepting new patients and how they want you to proceed.

This article was written in cooperation with Dr. Claude Grenzbach, who is a pediatrician in a private practice in Berlin-Mitte for pediatric and adolescent medicine. Her focus is on preventive medical care, pediatric pneumology and allergy. She offers her consultations in German, English and French.

How to Find a Pediatrician (Who Accepts New Patients)

Here’s a database of pediatricians in Berlin that is searchable by post code.

You may also want to check for doctors accepting new patients on booking platforms such as Doctolib or Jameda.

Note: You will likely hear the sentence “we’re not accepting new patients at the moment” quite a few times, which can be super frustrating. But don’t get disheartened. Keep trying.

When we couldn’t get into our preferred pediatrician, I kept calling them for every new check-up to see if they would take us and eventually (after about 6 months) they did! In the meantime, we went to another practice that did have capacity from birth.

How to choose a doctor?

Even though it can be hard to find any doctor at all that will accept new patients, you will want to make sure the doctor aligns with your values and that you are able to trust them. Think about what is important to you when choosing a healthcare professional:

  • How much time they spend with their patients

  • How patient they are in answering your questions

  • How they interact with the baby/child

  • What languages they and their staff speak

  • How big the practice is

  • How long the wait times are

  • How you and they feel about alternative medicine and natural remedies

Sometimes you will only find out once you’ve had an appointment with them, but some pediatricians do offer good insights into their approach on their website. 

Special case: If you are not doing the U2 at the hospital (due to giving birth at home or at a birthing center birth or a an outpatient birth), you need to make sure that you find a doctor that will do the U2 at the practice, since not all pediatricians offer this.

What are the U-Untersuchungen?

The scheduled checkups for babies and kids are called U-Untersuchungen and they are mandatory in Germany. They go by ascending numbers (so U1 directly after birth, U2 between day 3-10, U3 at around 1 month after birth and so on).

In the first year, they are quite frequent (six in the first 12 months). After that, they are just once a year (around your child’s birthday) until your child is five years old.

These appointments provide an opportunity to check the child’s development (movement, speech, height, weight, etc.) and any potential abnormality that your child may need extra care or treatment for. It is also a chance for parents to ask any questions about such topics as sleep schedules, introducing solids, behavior, etc.

What is the yellow booklet for?

At the U1 (directly after birth), you will receive a yellow booklet (gelbes Heft) with your child’s details and a schedule for the following U appointments as well as recommended vaccinations. You will need to bring this booklet (and the child’s insurance card) with you to every U appointment going forward, along with the vaccination booklet (Impfbuch) if they are getting new shots.

In this booklet, the doctor notes down the weight, height and head circumference of the child as well as any other developmental information relevant at each stage. 

What else does your pediatrician do?

Besides the scheduled checkups your pediatrician also gives your child the recommended vaccinations.

You can of course also see them for help and treatment when your child is sick, such as with a cold, infectious disease or a virus. You may also make appointments for other non-urgent topics you’d like to discuss with the doctor. Finally, pediatricians can also give advice to the parents about nutrition, exercise and developmental questions.

Good luck finding the right pediatrician for your family!

Read the rest of this article and become part of our community of expecting parents ❤️ Join Kietzee Club today to feel more confident and connected!

Learn More

Bereits Mitglied? Anmelden

Vielleicht gefällt dir auch

post.image.alt
MEMBERS

Tips for big and small emergencies with babies and kids

Life with kids is never boring! Learn practical tips to prepare for big and small emergencies, provided by Dr. Claude Grenzbach.

post.image.alt

A Pediatrician's Top Tip for Expecting Parents

Berlin pediatrician Dr. Claude Grenzbach shares her number one tip for expecting parents. Spoiler alert: it's not what you would expect!

post.image.alt

English Birth Preparation Classes in Berlin and Online

Learn about what is covered in a birth preparation class, when to take it and where to find a "Geburtsvorbereitungskurs" in English in Berlin or online.