pediatrician shopping
Monday, 22 May, 2006
Kids, Parenting | 笔者: Twinsmom
Since the girls were born till now, we have visited 8 different pediatricians in total and two GP, and have a “clinic registration card” collection numbering 18 (some of the clinics let the girls share one registration card).
But among all these pediatricians, we only frequent 2 - 3 of them. There’s a term for this, it’s called “doctor shopping”, and we were quite good at it.
You see, the thing about being new parents to a pair of twins, is that you have twice the fun… and twice the worry. Seeing the two of them growing up together is really priceless… and seeing the two of them getting sick is really a white-hair-inducing experience.
The first few months after the twins were born, we had to bring them to hospital (UMMC) for vaccination, and at the same time, the doctor will do the usual check-up on their well-being. After the 2 - 3 vaccinations, the hospital adviced us to get the rest of the jabs from the clinic, which lead us to begin our “shopping” spree.
The first pediatrician we visited was located near our house, but soon after two visits, the pediatrician told us she got to move to a new township far away from our place, we joked that may be the place we stay got too many temples and medium, took away a lot of her business.
Anyway, I later learnt that it was good that we didn’t continue visiting her, because she told us to mix some cereal in the milk for the babies if we want them to sleep longer at night, but then the babies only three months old, they are not ready/suppose to take cereal, and let alone mix into the milk. And she gave us a lot formula sample! And mixing cereal in the milk doesn’t make the babies sleep longer, really.
Then Twinsdad’s #2 brother introduced us his daughter’s pead., but still quite far from our place, but at least we found one.
Bu then this pead. is not supportive on breastfeeding either. She even adviced me not to breastfeed after 6 months, then gave me some formula sample as well! Being a bit more informed about the benefits of breatfeeding then, I was disappointed to hear her asking me to stop breastfeeding and I lost a bit confident with her. I also noticed that she tends to perscribe antibiotic to the girls easily, but hey, she’s the one with the medical degree, not us. So we basically kept our “parents-know-it-all” mouth shut and trust the doctor. But this was not the reason we went “doctor-shopping”. Although we were a bit apprehensive, she still did a good job.
The thing is the twins started their “make-your-parent-worry” phase very early. Like all kids their age (1-2), they would come down fevers, flus and coughs (breastfeeding is good, but it’s not a miracle nutrition) . The thing is that the twins seems to (almost) always fall sick during the pediatrician’s off-day!
Being new parents and all, we tend to get very worried when their temperture gets high and they wouldn’t stop crying. So, we’ll put them in the car, zoom off to look for a pediatrician. That’s how we ended up with 8 pediatricians. Oh, don’t know if anyone staying in the Klang Valley noticed, but we found that most pediatricians seems to be based around the Damansara area - half of the pediatricians we visited are based around Damansara!
Now that the twins have reached 3 1/2 years old, we’ve finally have settled on two pediatricians whose off-day is different. Both are very good. One of them is also a lactating consultant (which I regret not seeing in the very early stage, would have saved me a lot more hardship on breastfeeding the duo). The other pediatrician is a very long winded middle-aged doctor. He always tells us why he is giving the kids this and that medicine, what it does, why the twins are sick and more! He’s also very suitable for parents who wants to know everything! But seriously, I like the fact that he is very careful with medicine, and often told us not to simply give children antibiotic.
But then how many of us, the parents, will not listen to the pediatrician? So from time to time, we are torn apart in between the advices given by the different pediatricians. Everyone have the belief and their method to treat the little patient.
I know some parents very ‘lucky’, the baby stick to one doctor from birth, but not us, we went around ’shopping’ until we got one or two.
Hey.. Twinsmom,
At least in asia.. you have a choice of who you wanna choose for your family doctor. Here.. i very the “kesian” you know..!! at first .. chloe’s family doctor seems to be very nice. .and careful and all.. but as he got more famous.. and more patients.. seeing him is also like seeing God..! and then some more he very in a hurry.. and no time to explain anything. I am very the frustrated.. and we cannot change doctors.. because once you got a doctor.. other doctors wouldn’t take you .. and also they have hundreds of patients already.. and all over booked.
So you see how sorry state i am in.
>> MamaBok, Oh… dear… I feeling lucky now :P, the family doctor really need the royalty from the patient huh? I guess it will not be easy for you guy looking for 2nd opinion then. How about emergency then? We can’t make appointment for emergency right?
Over here in Canada, Public health encourage and very keen on Breastfeeding as along as possible, Immediately after birth, there will be a nurse explaning the benefits of breastfeeding, giving lesson and visit the new parent home on the progress.
After reach 1 year old,(if you use formula)all Doctor or Ped. here would ask you to switch formula to regular “cow” milk, use cup and stop feeding with bottle.
Perhaps Regular milk is better subsitute for Breastmilk not Formula.
>> BT, here the govt. hospital did the same, but 无奈人手不够，医院方面不可能派人探访，再说虽然政府医院也鼓励授乳至一年以上，然后孩子断奶后用鲜牛奶代替人奶，但是这里的奶粉广告打到通天都是，已经根深蒂固的让父母认为奶粉是唯一的代替品。但是谢天谢地我起码有多一点对这方面的认识，所以奶粉并不是双喜非有不可的补助品。
We don’t have Ped, we only have one family doctor and a Ped when you are Pregnant to birth only.
After birth, the baby go back to Family doctor, we only visit Ped when baby need specific help, then family doctor will refer you to see one, you have choice to choose if you don’t like the one he refer, but you still need to tell him who to refer.
Doctor here don’t prescibe medicine easily, usually tell you to get some drugs over the counter and rest rest rest. Antibiotic drugs is very straight not so recomemded or depend on it so much. Let the body fight itself.
>> BT, 加拿大的医疗真的做得很好。
LOL! you are lucky lor… the paed that we trust most stay all the way in JB leh… one of my mum’s close friend
>> Egghead, alamak! but then you should know some in your working place what?
I chose Belle’s ped. from our health care provider website. My criteria at that time was the # of years s/he has been practising, does s/he has children & what s/he specialises in (most docs here have their own specialty within their own field). Here in the Bay Area, in order to interview the ped, have to pay out of pocket (all meds are covered by insurance). In short, we didn’t pay and went with our gut feeling. Our ped. so far so good la.
>> Vien, emm… interesting, I mean this “health care provider website” you mention, care to blog about it? at least share wiht the mommies in Malaysia?
I think you’re right to follow your instinct in changing a doctor who prescribes antibiotics easily. I’m a long way away from being a mum (hopefully in the future, too busy being a uni student right now) but a lot of illnesses that kids get, like colds and flu, are viral, not bacterial, so antibiotics don’t work for that. If your current paed is good about explaining why/what medicines he’s giving them, that’s pretty good even if he’s a bit cheong-hei about it.
>> Megabigblur, “like colds and flu, are viral, not bacterial, so antibiotics don’t work for that” this is exactly what the cheong-hei doc told me too. lesson learn, and really thanks for your comment ;).
I went doctor shoppong too, my girl have 4 Paed. My girl rejected milk when she was a baby, none of the Paed can help.
I don’t like to give my girl antibiotic too unless it is really necessary.
>> Jefferene, you mean YC rejected breastmilk or milk?
wah…begitu mafan 1 ar?? next time must tengok betul betul for my future kid paed lor…!!kekeke….. i think kepong area got 1 famous paed lar… last time i used to see 1… bow seem like move to near jusco shop lot there…. hmm.time for me to search out lor..
>> Milly, a bit too early for you to find one right?
gosh how could the doctor advice against BF? she obviously wanted to sell more milk! i dont always listen to ashley’s paed but we’ve been going to the same paed since she was born.
>> mom2ashley, ya lor, unless she sell formula as well and get commission from it, otherwise why she not encourage BF leh? And I always thought the doctors should be well inform and updated to the research, obviously not all of them.
Fortunately for me, I found a good paed from day 1 that is very keen on bf, more keen than me. He is also vegetarian and not really keen on children taking too much medicine unless necessary. His clinic gives out a lot of milk samples, anyone needs samples, let me know.
>> Michelle, LOL…too bad you stay so far away, otherwise I will ask you to take some for me, but then now my twins also hardly take milk, bo-luck.
so far SQ stick to her 2nd paed eja..coz I doesn’t like her 1st paed lah..macam very lazy to explain my question wan..
>> msau, ya lor, sometime ask the pead question they think I like test them like that, and not really want to answer, and lagi best was when I asked them to write down the name of the medicine for me, was like I don’t trust them like that, pay money to them some more have to get staring pulak.
As first time parents we didn’t know any paed so in the early days we went to the one at the hospital. He treated the baby like a slab of meat, advised early formula feeding because my breastmilk not enough and I dumped him. I searched for breastfeeding help and found this great paed who helped me to breastfeed both my babies. Whats more, she doesn’t prescribe antibiotics freely. The only catch? She’s patient enough to answer our questions and good with both the kids and parents, you’ve got to be prepared to wait a long time for your turn but we don’t mind waiting and its near my house too. So I consider myself lucky.
>> MG, Lucky you to found her early, save you from this not so present shopping spree LOL…
Adrian had 2 paed, but now he state to the 2nd 1 together with didi.
He is vy careful checking, explaining vy much in details; why, how and the medicines effect. Especially he is very friendly with my kids..
>> Rachel, yah, the doc that can talk to the kids also very good, I hate the pead not talk to my girls wan. *sigh* if they don’t like kids then why become a pead leh, may be just for money :P.
Baobao goes to a GP for regular check up. My gynae said pd very ex. If nothing serious, can see GP. I heed my gynae’s advice.
>> Earthtone, ah ba’s GP also told us can bring the girls to see him, if they get sick. but then not that I don’t trust him lor, he also told me not to breastfeed more than 3 months, so I no confident with him also, and we think he quite arragont and not updated lor.
You’re right.Having twins to go find Paed…And also when u have to pay twice.My baby have change to our family doctor.Because paed very expencive o…3 kids,usually every months or 2 months once.My baby usually have to get antibiotic cause they quite serious when they cough.Got asthma mah.
>> Angeline, yah… the fees, kill people man… the first time I brought the girls for vaccination after UMMC adviced so, wha… RM240!!!! for twins! hair all standing.
Oh dear, got asthma lagi jialat.
Eh.. share your Paed’s address and contact. Esp the lactation consultant one.
I also do a lot of Dr Shopping.. Haven’t found a really good one yet, but I stick to the one in Sunway Medical because Zara’s records are all there.
>> Zara’s mama, we tried to stick to UMMC, but… the Q really cannot tahan.
I think most of the first time mother just feed whatever the paed gave. I was the one when Jo still in a young stage, i almost sprayed him the medicine when he got blocking nose. But now i take a lesson and i think twice before i do as doctor not be right always, and i hate those like to prescribe antibiotic.
Your post remind me to count how many paed i have already been. TQ!
I also go shopping for paed coz Ivan also tend to fall sick on days when the paeds are not available. And what I found is that most paeds “mm yau chou” (dont mind not working)… so I think Ivan alone also got regiestered in 6 - 7 clinics…
Erm… so which ones are you going to? Maybe I can have a few more choice when needed…
i am quite surprise that there are paeds who do not support breast feeding. as far as i know, the iron in breast milk will not be sufficient for kid after 6 months. usually the doctor will introduce iron supplement +juice , soft diet etc
wahha…i think shud say is time for me to continue my study with medical then can be paed… wahahaha…then can earn alot money???
Doctor Shopping II…
Double Happiness as the parent of twin daughters gives an account of why they have been Paediatrician Shopping
The thing is the twins started their “make-your-parent-worry” phase very early. Like all kids their age (1-2), they would come down fev……