Is your doctor a god?

Emily - posted on 09/20/2010

I have noticed the same thing. Personally I think pediatricians know a lot about health, but that does not make them parenting experts.

Shannon - posted on 09/20/2010

my daughter has had regular checkups with her pediatrician since she was born. she had 1 week, 6 weeks, 3 month, 6 month, 9 month, 12 month and her 18 month will be in december. other than that, she's only been to the doctor once, and that was because she had a terrible cold and started wheezing and i was worried she had bronchitis. i live in alberta, canada, so doctors visits are covered by our health care, and my husband has private insurance through work, so if we need meds thats about 80% covered. our costs are very minimal. but im not one to run to the doctor over every little sniffle. i take her for her checkups just to make sure shes growing well and healthy (which she is)

Alison - posted on 09/20/2010

I'm on the fence on this one. On one hand, I think it is important for parents to be informed, on the other hand, doctors do a lot of schooling to earn their title and who am I to claim that however many articles I have read can replace the knowledge of a doctor?



Last winter I had many long discussions over the benefits of vaccines. Ultimately, I think there comes a point where you have to trust the specialist. And I think it's a good idea to take a baby for check-ups.



You've got to strike a balance. And if you cannot trust your doctor, maybe you need to find another one...

Catherine - posted on 09/20/2010

Are doctors gods . . . no, but are they worth listening to, yes I think they are. Not only do they have a professional degree, but they see children all day, every day, so they have a lot more experience than an individual parent has. Also, like us, many of them are parents themselves, so they can work from personal experience too.

Do I take all of my doctor's advice, certainly not, I do my own research too. However, the danger of doing your own research, especially in the Internet age, is that it is very difficult sometimes to know the quality of what you're reading. Honestly, most of the research you're doing is probably based on the advice of different doctors. Although I do read the research, I also listen to my son's doctor. I know him and I trust him, and he has actually looked at my son and knows details about him, where I don't "know" the doctors who write the materials posted on the Internet, so I don't know if I can trust what they have to say or not.

I also think there is an importance to well-baby checkups. Missed developmental milestones can be the sign of a medical issue. My sister didn't talk in the normal range, and it turned out it was because she had so much fluid in her ears that she couldn't hear well. The doctor caught that, the issue was dealt with, and her speech developed. Are there some doctors out there to make a buck, sure, but a lot of them are good people and I would hate to see them lumped into the insurance business, as many of them are hurt by that just as much as their patients are.

Renae - posted on 09/20/2010

No doctors are not gods. In fact, I find MOST doctors grossly uninformed about babies! I dont see doctors regularly. I have in the past because my baby saw a specialist for reflux and went for regular checks, but eventually I just said, look we dont need to keep coming, there is no reason to be here! Yes, I do think they line their pockets by continually booking "follow-ups".

I consider myself very well informed on sleep training. I know far more than any doctor and it never ceases to amaze me how LITTLE they know! Most proven methods used by psychologists the paeds have never even heard of. I didn't go for my babies 18 month check with the child health nurse because I see absolutely no reason to. The docs and nurse can seem to tell me anything I didn't already know.

Also, what I really cant stand about the medical field (and I only learned this since having my baby) is that all family doctors, GPs and hospital employed doctors, are only allowed to tell you what the health department approves and recommends. Even if the recommendation doesn't suit your circumstances or was made for a reason that has nothing to do with you. They HAVE to tell you the recommended advice. I find that often the recommended advice is not what is best for my baby and when I read up on WHY it was recommended it is nothing to do with me. That really erks me. How dare the government decide what is right for me. Doctors should give us all of the facts and let us make our own decision.

Melissa - posted on 09/19/2010

I guess for me I pretty much go with my gut after doing my research and just the feeling of knowing what I need to do...but my husband often disagrees with me!! So it is helpful to have a professional who has kids and who see kids everyday tell us things! I also, at times, second guess myself and find it overwhleming to make the right choices for my LO...he has had reflux and colic and now constipation soo we have been to the docs often but more for my peace of mind. As my LO gets older with each month that passes I feel more confident in my instincts!
But I trust my doc and find it very comforting to have someone with so much more knowledge help me make the right decissions! Good question though!

Jennifer - posted on 09/19/2010

ah, and i forgot to mention that my doctor does not give me parenting advice, which i LOVE. he and his assistant love that i tend to be an AP mom, but they don't just offer me parenting advice. it really makes me uncomfortable when doctors offer parenting advice, such as telling you that you should let your baby CIO....ummm NO

Sarah - posted on 09/19/2010

LIke Jennifer, my son was taken in for well checkups at 2 weeks, 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 9 months, and next week he has his 1 year appt. At those appts he got shots, had a weight/height check, and I got a sheet of paper discussing developmental milestones & recommendations for certain things like eating solids & how to get your child to sleep. All this is covered by insurance.

Here's the way I see it...I don't consider my doctor a god, BUT I do take her recommendations & concerns, etc. into consideration. I strongly believe that she has my son's best interest at heart & she DOES have a professional degree. I choose to trust my doctor, but that doesn't mean I do every little thing she suggests. For instance, it was suggested that I let him cry it out & I chose not to do it this way. As a mother, yes I have my own "motherly instincts," but at the same time, I DON'T know everything & that's why I choose to trust in my doctor's knowledge. I would be careful looking certain things up on the internet. Make sure it's a reliable source. You can get bad advice & information off of the internet & sometimes the internet can really scare you.

Jennifer - posted on 09/19/2010

we do see our doctor regularly for "well-baby" checks. he was seen at 2 weeks, 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 9 months, and he will be seen again at 1 year. after that i think it is once a year. it is completely covered by insurance so we don't pay a cent.

i definitely don't take our doctors word as gospel...i do plenty of my own research. at the same time though, our doctor is pretty cool. he's okay with delayed vaccinations, so far has been very supportive of breastfeeding, doesn't encourage solids before 6 months, doesn't hand out antibiotics willy-nilly.

i do agree with you, though. health care in america is a business and they make you feel like putting your kids at risk if you don't follow exactly what they tell you. too many parents follow blindly