How to interview adoption pediatricians
Parents may choose to interview an adoption pediatrician as they near the end of their adoption process. A pediatrician specializing in adoption may be able to help parents comprehend and address medical records from oversees, as well as provide information on medical concerns from children adopted domestically.
In both international and domestic adoption, there is a chance of the child having an unknown medical history. In addition, some children may have been born to parents who were addicted to drugs, predisposed to a variety of hereditary conditions, or born with special needs. Therefore, interviewing potential adoption pediatricians is an important step in the adoption process.
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Things You'll Need
- Medical records (for child if already been born and birth parents, if available)
Instructions
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Steps
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Schedule interviews with potential adoption pediatricians well in advance of your child's adoption. Confirm that your insurance will be accepted at their medical practice before scheduling your initial interview.
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Ask the pediatrician how long they she has been in practice, and about her knowledge of adoption. Adopting doesn't mean that you child will have a medical condition, but some children who have resided in orphanages for a long time may have medical needs that haven't been addressed. Additionally, babies born with special needs and/or without a known medical history need to see apediatrician experienced in treating these medical issues.
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Discuss your child (of future child's) situation, including date of birth, location of birth and how long the child has been in foster care or an orphanage. If you're adopting an older child, share with the pediatrician as much as you know about your child's medical history. Ask the pediatrician if he or she has treated children with similar backgrounds and medical history.
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Confirm that the pediatrician is willing to look at and offer advice on medical records from overseas if adopting internationally, prior to the adoption of your child.
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Discuss the best ways to get in touch with the pediatrician throughout the adoption process, particularly when you have custody of your child. Consider that time zones in the United States and countries across the world may be many hours apart from your pediatrician's.
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Tips & Warnings
Find out the doctor's policy on after-hours and weekend appointments. Some pediatrician clinics will charge an additional fee to be seen outside of office hours.
Don't dismiss a potential pediatrician your child just because he or she doesn't have the "adoption pediatrician" title. It's more important for the pediatrician to have the knowledge to treat your child's medical issues.
