Peel Public Health puts a newborn's first visit two or three days after birth, and the checks stay close together until 18 months. Each one measures growth, asks about feeding and sleep, and looks at what your child can do at that age.
What the visit covers
- Well-baby checks — weight, length, head circumference, feeding and sleep
- The 18-month visit, which in Ontario is an enhanced developmental check — ask how yours is booked
- Shots due at each age, and catch-up doses — ask which ones are given here
- A child who is suddenly unwell, seen the day it starts, without an appointment
- School, daycare and camp forms — uninsured, so ask the fee before one is filled in
- A copy of the immunization record for a school or daycare — ask the desk what it can print
- Referral to a paediatrician, or for a hearing, speech or development assessment — ask how referrals go from here
What the visits check, and what you can arrange yourself
The first two years. That first visit is about feeding and how the baby is settling in. The checks after it land on the same ages as the immunization schedule, which works out to six appointments before a second birthday.
18 months. Ontario makes this one an enhanced visit: development is looked at as well as growth, and you can expect to complete a short survey giving a snapshot of where your child is. Ontario publishes an Early Years Check-In as well — social, emotional, language, movement, thinking and learning skills, for ages 18 months to 6 years — which you may choose to fill in beforehand to pin down what you want to raise. Ask the desk whether your appointment is booked as the enhanced visit.
A door you can open yourself. Ontario's Preschool Speech and Language Program runs from birth until a child starts school, and you do not need a referral from your doctor — phone the centre for this area directly rather than waiting for an appointment here. Hearing is screened at birth under the Infant Hearing Program, which also keeps watching babies at higher risk of hearing loss; its regional centres are listed on Ontario's page for the programme.
Shots. The doses due at each age, and who has to report them so a school can see them, are set out on the immunizations page rather than repeated here. Ask which of them are given in this office before you book.
What OHIP covers
The appointment itself is insured, whatever your child's age. OHIP also pays for one major eye exam — vision and general eye health — every 12 months for anyone 19 or younger, plus any minor assessments needed; eyeglasses and contact lenses it does not cover. Two things fall outside it. Completing a form is an uninsured service, and CPSO rules say you must be told the fee before it is filled in, so ask at the desk first. What the pharmacy charges is its own question — if your child is 24 or younger, the prescription renewals page has what OHIP+ pays for.
Walk in, or book?
Book the well-baby checks, the 18-month visit and anything that needs a form signed — say at the desk which form it is, and bring all of it with you. A fever, an earache or a rash can walk in on the day it starts.
What to bring
- A health card for each child, or the infant registration form if a newborn's card has not arrived
- The yellow immunization card, or the record from wherever the last dose was given
- For a first visit, the birth weight and measurements from the hospital or midwife
- Whatever the school, daycare or camp handed you, in full, plus the date it is due back
- Everything the child takes — inhalers, drops, creams, and medicine bought off the shelf
Questions people ask
My baby has a fever. Walk in, or emergency?
Under 6 months, a temperature over 37.5 °C in the armpit or 38 °C in the ear means seeing a doctor as soon as possible. That is Peel Public Health's threshold, and it is not one to sit on. At any age, Ontario's list for the emergency department is: trouble breathing, or breathing faster than normal; pale skin; lips that look white or blue; wheezing; very sleepy or hard to wake; a prolonged or very high fever; repeated vomiting with nothing staying down; signs of dehydration, such as a dry mouth or no urine. Call 911 for severe symptoms such as shortness of breath or chest pain. Short of any of that, walk in on the day. If you cannot tell, 811 reaches a registered nurse. Peel puts the judgement call plainly: how your baby looks and acts matters more than the number on the thermometer, so if you are worried at any point, take them to a doctor, fever or not.
Does a newborn need their own health card?
Yes — a baby is registered for OHIP in their own right. If the birth was in a hospital or with a registered midwife, they hand you an Ontario Health Coverage Infant Registration form and send it in for you, and the card arrives within eight weeks. Born anywhere else, a parent registers the baby at a ServiceOntario counter in person; inside the first 90 days all you need is proof of where the baby was born, such as a letter from the hospital or the attending doctor, and after that it is a birth certificate. If the card has not turned up by the time you need an appointment, say so when you book.
My three-year-old is behind on talking. Do we need a referral?
No. Ontario's Preschool Speech and Language Program takes a parent's own call, from birth until the child starts school — the province states that you do not need a referral from your doctor. Find the centre for this area on Ontario's page for the programme and phone it yourself. Mention it at the next visit too, so it is written down alongside everything else that is being followed.
Still have a question? Call the front desk.
Related
- Flu shots and routine immunizationsFlu shots in season, routine vaccines
- Walk-in clinic in MississaugaColds, infections, rashes, minor injuries
- Sick notes, work forms and insurance paperworkNot covered by OHIP; ask about the fee
