Visiting the Pediatrician  

Make sure to talk with your pediatrician about Mongolian Spots.  They are common in babies with Asian, African, Mediterranean, or Indian Heritage.  The bruise-colored marks appear most often on baby's bottom or back and usually fade by her first birthday.  You may want to consider taking photos of your child to document these spots to keep on file at your doctor's office.  Make sure that you explain Mongolian Spots to caregivers who may need to be enlightened.

Interviewing Pediatricians

• Prior to your Doctor's visit you may want mail him or her the Open Letter to Pediatricians on Chinese Adoption Medical Issues, by Deborah Borchers, M.D., F.A.A.P. (This will prepare the pediatrician for the interview.)

• Are you familiar with the Texas Medical Kit?  Your opinions?

• What kind of antibiotics will you send with me to China for my child?

• Any experience with internationally adopted children?

• Do you have a growth chart for Asian children?  Will they make a copy of the Asian Growth Charts a permanent part of your child's records?

• Does he have a phone number to contact him while you're in China?  What happens on his days off?

• What types of parasitic problems are most common with institutionalized children from China?

• As soon as we receive our referral/medical information, will he be available on short notice for an evaluation?

• What kind of immunization and tests might you set up?  This link is a compilation of the tests recommended by Dr. Deborah Borchers and the Red Book, an American Academy of Pediatrics reference "screening for internationally adopted child".

• How many internationally adopted babies in your practice?
• Are you willing to go over medical information received at the time of referral or is there someone you could refer us to?
• How flexible is your scheduling? How far ahead do appointments have to be booked? We  may not know exactly what our return date from China will be until the last minute.
• Can we schedule a visit within a week after return?
• If we encounter problems in China can we call? What phone #?
• What is your relationship with email - especially need to know for when we are in China.
• Once we get you on the phone - will you feel comfortable answering questions about illnesses etc after we have met our daughter but are still in China?
• Basic parent questions: what is weekend and holiday coverage? Nights?
• Will you personally see us at most visits?
• Are you reachable 24 hours a day? How is follow thru with covering physician handled?
• Do you have a call hour for non-urgent questions?

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Special Thanks to Kelly for creating this page.