Pediatrics is the branch of medicine dealing with the health and medical care of infants, children, and adolescents from birth up to the age of 18.
What does a pediatrician do?
A pediatrician is a child’s physician who provides not only medical care for children who are acutely or chronically ill but also preventive health services for healthy children. A pediatrician manages physical, mental, and emotional well-being of the children under their care at every stage of development, in both sickness and health.
Pediatrics is different from adult medicine in more ways than one. The smaller body of an infant or neonate or a child is substantially different physiologically from that of an adult. So treating children is not like treating a miniature adult. Congenital defects, genetic variance, and developmental issues are of greater concern to pediatricians than physicians treating adults. In addition, there are several legal issues in pediatrics. Children are minors and, in most jurisdictions, cannot make decisions for themselves. The issues of guardianship, privacy, legal responsibility and informed consent should be considered in every pediatric procedure.