Is my ped THAT different

[happysmileylady]

I generally consider my ped to be up on all the latest research and overall, pretty trustworthy in his advice. He's all about BF as long as you can, when dd2 started losing weight, his advice was to suppliment, AFTER nursing, with pumped milk, if she would take a bottle. He also recommended talking to an LC, rather than trying to give me advice about the actual nursing himself, stating they have the most experience. He's all about solids AFTER 6 months, advising that they shouldn't be given before, and that they shouldn't replace BF nutrition before age 1. He also has talked about allergy risks in terms of the latest research I have also seen, that delaying when there's no family history doesn't seem to prevent allergies later. He doesn't give parenting advice unless asked.

And vaccines....he doesn't even do them in his office. He does support them, but he doesn't offer them and the only time he's ever mentioned them is when I took dd2 in with an awful cough that I was worried was pertussis, as a small infant (it turned out to be RSV, thankfully mild.) And he only mentioned it to ask if she had been vaxed yet. He directs all patients to the county health department to get vaccines and that's pretty much the only discussion on it. When I asked why, he said the office doesn't make any money on them, that it's not cost effective to offer them because of the insurance reimbursements vs how much they pay for them.

I read all sorts of horror stories on here about peds pressuring folks, threatening with scare tactics and dead babies, long lenghthy discussions on the benefits of vaccines, misinformation etc etc. Are peds like mine really that unusual?

[AllyRae]

YES! We have to drive an hour each way to see our fantastic ped because the 5 we had in our area were idiots. And not just "they don't agree with me, so I hate them", but "they give bad advice and shouldn't even be practicing medicine" kind of peds...1 retracted Brandon foricibly and said that it's required, one gave Brandon a vaccine that just a couple months before he had reacted to so severely it's on the list the CDC gives of contraindications for future vaccination (after she lied to me about giving it), one told me that a child shouldn't breastfeed after 6 months of age, and that she tells all her nursing mothers to switch to formula at that time. Oh, and when Brandon had a complete language regression at 12 months old (meaning, he had a dozen or so words in his vocabulary and then all of the sudden stopped making any sound that wasn't a high pitched scream)...the ped told us to wait until he was 2 and then call early intervention...wait an entire YEAR for something that was a big fat red flag for autism. Sure enough, he was diagnosed with autism. See...seriously incompetent doctors. I'm not even counting the number of them who told me co-sleeping kills and I should CIO.

I love my current ped. He is wonderful and we drive a long way to see him because of it.

[chaoticzenmom]

It sounds like you have a great pediatrician who refuses to sell out. They're around. It's great you found one.

[peainthepod]

In my experience, very rare. It took me months to find a practice that even sees vaccine-free kids, and they were still very pro-vaccine and administered them right there in the office. We stopped doing WBVs eventually because it was clear that the visits were all about selling us more vaccines and had nothing to do with wellness.

Congratulations on finding a pediatrician who's right for your family.

[OdinsMommy0409]

The pedi that we regularly seems to have a "don't ask, don't tell" approach to vaxing. I think this is because he respects a parent's right to choose and is not pro nor anti-vax but works in a vax-required practice. He's also highly supportive of breastfeeding (but rarely sees it) and was always so excited when I told him I planned to nurse for at least two years. He never worried about DS's "prolonged" jaundice; he never worried about DS's low-normal weight gain. He can see that DS is happy, healthy, and meeting his milestones well.

Strangley, if we were to see my brother, who is at the same practice but different location, it be a very negative experience.

[Aridel]

He does sound like a great fit for you guys! And yes, rare!

[serenbat]

I know in my state and we are close to two others so some have insurance from outside the state, there is a VERY BIG notice in the ped's office about vacs--they need to know up front if your insurance is going to pay or not and they make it very clear! It is NOT required that insurances co. pay in my state. They push going to the county health dept to do vacs because they simply do not get payments--it's a big factor to store (at proper temps) and not really know how many you will use.

vacs aren't pushed and I see the reason behind it--if you do vac they will gladly take your records and add them to the file, more seem to be going this way and vacs aren't the issue, lack of payment is, I have heard this from several that do billing

[ASusan]

Originally Posted by happysmileylady

And vaccines....he doesn't even do them in his office. He does support them, but he doesn't offer them and the only time he's ever mentioned them is when I took dd2 in with an awful cough that I was worried was pertussis, as a small infant (it turned out to be RSV, thankfully mild.) And he only mentioned it to ask if she had been vaxed yet. He directs all patients to the county health department to get vaccines and that's pretty much the only discussion on it. When I asked why, he said the office doesn't make any money on them, that it's not cost effective to offer them because of the insurance reimbursements vs how much they pay for them.
...

Are peds like mine really that unusual?

Sounds like our Family Practitioner and the NPs in his office.

Originally Posted by AllyRae

YES! We have to drive an hour each way to see our fantastic ped because the 5 we had in our area were idiots. And not just "they don't agree with me, so I hate them", but "they give bad advice and shouldn't even be practicing medicine" kind of peds...1 retracted Brandon foricibly and said that it's required, one gave Brandon a vaccine that just a couple months before he had reacted to so severely it's on the list the CDC gives of contraindications for future vaccination (after she lied to me about giving it), one told me that a child shouldn't breastfeed after 6 months of age, and that she tells all her nursing mothers to switch to formula at that time. Oh, and when Brandon had a complete language regression at 12 months old (meaning, he had a dozen or so words in his vocabulary and then all of the sudden stopped making any sound that wasn't a high pitched scream)...the ped told us to wait until he was 2 and then call early intervention...wait an entire YEAR for something that was a big fat red flag for autism. Sure enough, he was diagnosed with autism. See...seriously incompetent doctors. I'm not even counting the number of them who told me co-sleeping kills and I should CIO.

I love my current ped. He is wonderful and we drive a long way to see him because of it.

You could come 30 minutes to our Family Practitioner if you lose your current ped.