Pediatricians and the clinicians who care for children writing on KevinMD about child health: childhood illness, development, vaccines and the parents who refuse them, breastfeeding and the pressure around it, childhood obesity, prevention, and the realities of caring for young patients and their families. Most contributors are pediatricians. For a maintained record of what pediatricians have said about children's health since 2004, from fever and sleep through obesity, abuse, teenagers, and Medicaid, see Children's health: what pediatricians say, in their own words. For what physicians have said about vaccines and vaccine hesitancy, from the autism claim through measles, exemptions, and federal policy, see Vaccines: what physicians say, in their own words. For what child psychiatrists and pediatricians have said about children's and teens' mental health, see Mental health: what psychiatrists and physicians say, in their own words. For what pediatricians have said about breastfeeding and postpartum care, see Women's health: what physicians say, in their own words.
I pause for a moment and close my eyes — to center myself in this country, where I am today. I am about to walk through the door and tell the parents what my assessment has shown. I nod to the interpreter waiting behind me and knock firmly before entering the room. You see, I am the bringer of news, the bringer of new, unwanted knowledge that validates their fears, …
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Diagnosing autism: many nations, one world
Brownian motion was what was seemingly driving Joe (not the real name) as he aimlessly wandered all around the waiting room mumbling to himself. However, there was directed thought since he avoided the chairs and the hanging computer keyboard in the room with great acumen. At no point did he look at me directly.
“How is Joe?” I asked Dad, the father of 2 children afflicted with autism. Dad proceeded to …
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These are the moments that define medical care
People are told by big media that doctors will probably hurt you and you will never see it coming. They are told to stick up for themselves, be an advocate for your child/parent/dependent. Ask for more tests. They must be missing something. Ask for more consults. A second, third or fourth opinion must be better. Don’t leave without an answer and don’t compromise. Then they actually become patients. Or in …
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The win-win solution for patient satisfaction
Some children present to me with complex problems or multiple problems that fail to resolve after the typical interventions.
I recall a child with severe abdominal pain. He had tried numerous medicines and had had scopes and studies galore. It had reached the point where he was being scheduled for exploratory surgery to try and see the cause of his pain. I lost track of his case when I rotated elsewhere …
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Adverse childhood experiences: How changing a child’s environment can help
As chair of general pediatrics for a large medical group, I knew our HPV vaccination rates back in 2016 were low, but didn’t completely understand why. I’m here to share how we figured it out, and how we improved.
The first task was to understand the barriers, and we went straight to the front line. Our doctors and staff explained reasons why this vaccine can be such a hard sell – …
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How to increase your HPV vaccination rates
“Guys, are you alright in there?” I ask casually while taking the first bite of my dinner on a 24-hour PICU shift.
No answer.
“What is going on? Why is she beeping so much? Is her tube blocked?” My voice gets louder.
Complete human silence. Except for the deafening hypoxia monitor going to 30s. Heart rate monitor dipping to below 60s. All this beeping was coming from a six-month-old girl with a history …
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Clear and concise communication is key while delivering bad news
People often say that they can die happy if …
Well, I have no intention of dying, but one of my goals in life was achieved recently. Historically, Facebook moms groups have been the bane of existence for many physicians, particularly pediatricians. We are often rated and compared like hotel mattresses. Well, last night one of my friends texted me, “Your practice is getting a lot of love on Facebook.” Now, …
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The tide is turning: a pro-vaccine Facebook thread
Parents often ask me about snacks for their children once they are eating table food. Should they even give them snacks? If so, what kinds are good for them, and how often? In general, after age one I recommend three kid-size meals and 1 to 2 snacks to help them get their daily nutritional requirements. Try not to stress or obsess at each feeding about them eating all that you …
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A pediatrician’s tips for your kids’ snacking habits
“Try this,” whispers Kate Winslet as I wander past the Lancôme counter. “Your glowing skin will thank you.”
The consequences of a celebrity endorsement are seemingly harmless when it comes to revamping a makeup routine, but what happens when this type of advertisement seeps into the world of health care? It has been proven many times that celebrity endorsements influence decisions about specific political candidates, issues or parties, and the positive …
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The consequences of celebrity endorsements in health care
As our society’s awareness of mental-health issues increases, the idea of balancing personal and professional life has become a central topic of conversation. It cannot be disputed that finding a healthy equilibrium is especially important for mothers who enter the professional world, medical or otherwise. As a student in an accelerated post-baccalaureate pre-health program and a mother of a 3-year-old girl and a 10-month-old boy, I have made many strides …
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Does work-life balance really exist for young mothers pursuing medical careers?
As a pediatrician, I am asked by worried parents about what they should give their child with a fever, Motrin (ibuprofen), or Tylenol (acetaminophen) to bring down the temperature daily.
This question always requires more than a one-word response to the choice between anti-fever medications. An explanation of medication even being necessary for the fever and to clarify many long-standing fever phobia misconceptions.
Mainly, it is not necessary to treat the number …
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Motrin vs. Tylenol for children: A pediatrician explains
For pediatric cardiologists, February, National Heart Month, is a special time. We share health tips in the hospital and talk about heart health with those looking for advice, especially with patients and families impacted by CHD. It’s also a time to look back at what’s worked well in the field, while accelerating advancements for CHD treatment.
To start, congenital heart disease, a structural abnormality of the heart or of the blood …
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Prescription for a healthy heart: pediatric-driven partnerships
Her name was Callie (identifying information changed). She was four years old. She loved glitter and princesses and anything sparkly. She was affectionate and silly, and I fell hard for her. She was a patient, my patient, on the pediatric oncology unit during my very first ward rotation intern year.
On my first day, I was as scared as any person can be, palms sweating, heart pounding, faced with these tiny, …
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To parents who have lost children: We never forget your children
If you’re a parent who is still on the fence, trying to decide whether or not to vaccinate your children, I’m going to try to be kind and helpful. Here is a link to a video by a physician and father, Dr. Zubin Damania, with facts that may address some of your fears.
If you’re firmly pro-disease and anti-vaccine, however, I am baffled at your irrationality and frankly enraged by …
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A physician who’s angry at the anti-vaxxers
As a behavioral pediatrician, I see children with behavior problems. Kids with aggression, kids who have been kicked out of multiple daycares or schools and kids who are not doing well at home or school.
One of the things I always look for are clues as to why. Behaviors, while stressful, are not a diagnosis. They are symptoms of something else. For example: Just because a kiddo is not completing homework …
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Here’s why pediatricians ask about trauma and violence
Children are relatively healthy overall. Although 25% of the American population is under the age of 19, only 2% of annual deaths occur in this age group. There was a time when the contributions of diseases to pediatric death rates were much higher. Declines in deaths from infectious disease or cancer, the result of early diagnosis, vaccinations, antibiotics, and medical and surgical treatment, have given way to increases in deaths from …
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A disturbing study about children and guns
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common diagnosis in children today, and is increasingly a diagnosis assigned to adults, too. ADHD is a real thing, despite some having some skeptics and a few outright denialists; differences in brain scans between persons who have it and who don’t show there is a definite physiological basis for the disorder.
But in practice, we don’t do brain scans. We base the diagnosis on …
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Be careful of assigning the diagnosis of ADHD to young children just entering school
