We recently moved and on Thursday I have an appointment to interview the two doctors who are covered by our insurance. One is a female MD and the other is a male DO with 5 kids. The female MD does hospital deliveries and the DO does not. I am planning a homebirth so this is not a big issue to me. They are both family practitioners and will see our whole family as needed.
The areas in which I have encountered the most problems (been given misinformation) with docs in the past are: care of the intact penis, extended/tandem breastfeeding, refusing/delaying vaccinations, and using natural medicines/remedies at home. I consider co-sleeping, no CIO, etc to be parenting issues and not medical ones.
I have 15 minutes to interview each doc… I will be taking the kids with me (I want to see how they interact, and I don’t have a sitter). Below are the questions I have so far, but I would really appreciate ideas for more questions or any other feedback you may have. Thanks!
Circumcision:
~What’s your opinion on circumcision?
~Do you perform circumcisions? (no)
~Do you see many uncirced patients?
~When is foreskin retraction appropriate? (when the child is doing it themselves).
~Have you ever had an uncirc'ed patient who had a medical reason to be circ'd? If so, what was the reason? (double check to ensure it was a valid reason)
Vaccination:
~What is your opinion on the vaccination controversy?
~If a parent is undecided on a round of vaccinations, how would you advise them to proceed?
~How do you feel about parents who choose to decline vaccinations or selectively vaccinate?
Ebf/tandem nursing
~ At what point would you recommend weaning a child? (whenever mama and baby are ready, but most preferably not before 12 months of age)
General
~How often do you want to see a new baby in the first year? (would prefer fewer “well baby” visits)
~Do you have an area of special interest or study? If so, what?
Natural medicine:
~How do you feel about the use of natural remedies before coming in for antibiotics, etc…
The areas in which I have encountered the most problems (been given misinformation) with docs in the past are: care of the intact penis, extended/tandem breastfeeding, refusing/delaying vaccinations, and using natural medicines/remedies at home. I consider co-sleeping, no CIO, etc to be parenting issues and not medical ones.
I have 15 minutes to interview each doc… I will be taking the kids with me (I want to see how they interact, and I don’t have a sitter). Below are the questions I have so far, but I would really appreciate ideas for more questions or any other feedback you may have. Thanks!
Circumcision:
~What’s your opinion on circumcision?
~Do you perform circumcisions? (no)
~Do you see many uncirced patients?
~When is foreskin retraction appropriate? (when the child is doing it themselves).
~Have you ever had an uncirc'ed patient who had a medical reason to be circ'd? If so, what was the reason? (double check to ensure it was a valid reason)
Vaccination:
~What is your opinion on the vaccination controversy?
~If a parent is undecided on a round of vaccinations, how would you advise them to proceed?
~How do you feel about parents who choose to decline vaccinations or selectively vaccinate?
Ebf/tandem nursing
~ At what point would you recommend weaning a child? (whenever mama and baby are ready, but most preferably not before 12 months of age)
General
~How often do you want to see a new baby in the first year? (would prefer fewer “well baby” visits)
~Do you have an area of special interest or study? If so, what?
Natural medicine:
~How do you feel about the use of natural remedies before coming in for antibiotics, etc…
