In need of new doctor....

[DirtyHippie]

I am in search of a new doc for my kids. I need one that doesn't give parents a hard time about not vaccinating, "comfortable" with not circumcising etc. I am in Southern, Maine.

[gretasmommy]

Where in Southern Maine are you? Are you near Portland?
Andrea
mom to Greta 3/14 02

[ladyelmo1]

She may not be, but I am and I need a new one too. Do you have a suggestion?

-Melissa

[gretasmommy]

I know a few docs in the Portland ares. Are you looking in Portland, or a bit north or south? What are you looking for in a doc? Is it a pediatrician you need, or a doc for yourself?
I know both family practice docs and peds docs.

Andrea

[ladyelmo1]

Andrea,

Actually both. DD and I shared family practice doctor, but she moved back to Seattle. :crying First Dr in my life that I really liked!!

anyway, I'm looking in the Portland area. We live in Pownal (up near Freeport) but I work in Ptld, so one in the city works. Has to be female, though. I kinda have a hang-up about that. Either family practice for both of us, or pediatrician for dd; i can make do with the nurse prac I'm seeing now for a little while.

Also, do you know anything about the midwives in the area. Dh and I are looking at another baby in a year or so, and I would rather go with a midwife this time. Ob/gyn was nice, but more than I really needed.

Thanks a bunch for any input.
-Melissa :D

[mittendrin]

not soo familiar with maine, maybe i'm way off now. there's a family practitoner in kittery, he also practices integrated/holistic medicine, is an md though. my homeopath gave me his name, i can dig it up for you if that's not too far away from where you live.
i finally found a ped for my son after 1 year of searching, he's in londonderry, nh. first one who has an acceptable opinion on vaccination. great guy. for anyone who's lokking for peds in the douthern nh area, he's dr. eric knight in londonderry.
annika

[gretasmommy]

Hmmmm . . . I really like Dr. Cydney Mahoney in Portland/Knightville. She's really a good doc, and open to less conventional ways of thought. I know she is a strong supporter of LLL, and recently spoke at their conference near Kittery.
Hey, we are not too far apart - I live in Brunswick! We used a midwife at MMC for DD. Her name is Kathy Beach, and she works through Coastal Women's. Very supportive and open to my thoughts. I'd be happy to share my research with you! I looked all over before choosing her.
Andrea

[ladyelmo1]

annika: thanks for the offer, but Kittery is an hour away, so it's really too far.


Andrea: We ARE close!! I delivered my DD at Mercy. Was really nice, though the nursing wasn't always that great. But can't really complain much... they were packed to the rafters. 5 of us delivered in an hour and a half; they usually deliver 5 in a day!

Thanks for the advice; I really appreciate it. I heard that Back Cove midwives were really good too; have any thoughts? I hadn't even looked at Coastal Women's, but I will now. Gave up all contraception last month; wish me luck!!!

Thanks again!

-Melissa

[DirtyHippie]

Gretasmommy, I will have to look into Dr.Mahoney. I am assuming she is open minded about vaccinations as well?


Lady, I HIGHLY reccomend back cove midwives. My sister used them for her pregnancy. I was her doula so I went to a few prenatals with her and the way her birth was was AWSOME! Even when she was pushing my nieces heartones were dropping pretty low. Her midwife handled it beautifully. No panic, she had the on call doc come in just in case but he stayed behind the curtain so my sis wouldn't freak. It was a very calm situation. All was well, her cord was wrapped around her neck. I spoke at length with the other midwives as well and they are some great women!

[LiminalOne]

Hey Mainers (Hi Andrea :wave )

Just thought I'd add my 2 cents. We go to Dr. Ziegler (a family practice doc) that we like. She's somewhat inbetween conventional and alternative med. She doesn't push the more fringe vaccinations, but she does think that some of them (pertussis) make a lot of sense. We're still delaying (or avoiding, I haven't decided) the MMR and she kind of thinks we should do it, but not a lot of pressure. I like her b/c she doesn't freak out about food allergies and rashes, doesn't even talk to us about sleep issues unless we bring them up, and she raised her kids vegetarian. She's very willing to wait on ear infections and see how they develop

If you truly want less vax pressure, I heard that Dr. Balzer on India Street in Portland doesn't vax his kids and is totally comfortable with patients not vaxing. Also Katherine Malone, a NP, is a frequent choice of non-vaxing parents, but she thinks that tetanus is really important.

As for midwives, the Back Cove midwives are very good, but they are going to be a more medical model (since they use Mercy) than you might get at Ballard House. Our experience was somewhat mixed b/c they really were pushing for induction when they thought my fluid was low and it totally stressed me out during labor. I loved my labor nurses at Mercy, but the lactation advice I got afterward was not so great.

Maybe a bit more than 2 cents, but there you go

Good luck

Angie

[Jecca]

some of the pediatricians I've heard good things about are......
James Kirsh D.O.
878-9040

Also Dr. Balzer course I don't know where my info for him is right now.....
As for midwives I have heard good thigns about backcove midwives.I'm partial to birth partners personaly....

[corrie43]

I had doctor Bippart as my OB/GYN, but thank god one of the backcove midwives was the one who delivered my dd. My DH was very pro-doc, poo-poo midwife, until dd was born. He said if we ever have another it will be midwife all the way!!! Ellie Grillo delivered for me and she was FANTASTIC.

We see a family doc in Gorham named Jennifer Friedman, and we really like her. She's from England. She respects all my choices, yet offers her opinion in a non pushy way.

[CK'sMama]

We see Dr. Balzer and he is great in my opinion! However, if you are looking for a dr. that is going to spend a lot of time with you during visits he may not be the guy for you. When we go, after the nurse measures DS, Dr. Balzer does a basic exam on my son, eyes, ears, hips, etc. Then asks if I have thought about shots, and asks if I have any questions. Usually I don’t have any questions, so that is it! The whole thing takes about 10-15 minutes, which I like. DS doesn’t want to be messed with, so it is good for him.

Plus he is a regular family practitioner, not a ped. So his waiting room is never busy and there is never much of a wait. In and out, the way I like it! :)