We started displaying ads on this site. Running a website costs money, all coming from my family’s budget. I am not reimbursed for these expenses by my employer or anybody else. One way to offset the costs is to display paid ads on the site, so the ads are here to stay.
Hopefully, those ads promote legitimate, quality products of interest to you. The ads are “context sensitive” and should be generally relevant to the topics I cover in my posts (kids health, breastfeeding, parenting, family, etc.) and to the audience of this site (to you, new and veteran moms and dads, my friends and parents of my patients). However, in no case does the presence of an ad on this site imply an endorsement of the advertised company or product; refer to my advertising policy for details.
If you see an otherwise o.k. ad that does not belong here (an ad that is not even remotely related to this site’s content), let us know by leaving a comment to this post. We do have some (albeit limited) control over the categories of ads that are allowed on this site, and will try to remove irrelevant ones.
One may wonder, “why would a doctor want to become a lactation consultant?” In my work as a pediatrician I frequently have to take care of the babies that are breastfed. In fact, in most situations that means to take care of both: baby and mother. For the baby to be growing and thriving, the mother has to know how to latch and nurse in a proper way. She also needs education on nipple trauma prevention and increasing and maintaining her milk supply. Sometimes all the mother needs is support and reassurance. Sometimes she may have to be treated for cracked nipples, engorgement, or low milk supply. If these problems are not addressed in time, they will lead to failure to breastfeed, failure to thrive in a baby, depression and sense of guilt in a mother. The knowledge that I acquired becoming a lactation consultant helps me to take better care of my patients.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the new guidelines that require health insurance plans to cover women’s preventive services such as breastfeeding support, well-woman visits, domestic violence screening, and contraception without charging a co-payment, co-insurance or a deductible. New health plans will need to include these services without cost sharing for insurance policies with plan years beginning on or after August 1, 2012.
She is kind, understanding, honest and trustworthy. Although she is busy, she never makes me feel rushed and returns my calls in a timely fashion. My son had an ongoing health issue, and she gave us contacts for the specialists and made phone calls to those doctors to give information and receive updates. – Michelle, Troy
Lisa Doublestein recently approached me with a request for an interview for the May, 2011 issue of Start Early, Finish Strong, a publication of Wayne RESA Early Childhood Services. Below is the article that resulted from that interview, reproduced here by permission.
Q: My mother thinks I should be potty-training my 2-year-old, but I just don’t have time to do it right now! I want to wait until he’s 3. Am I waiting too long?
A: There are many stories in parenting circles about parents who potty train their kids in one day, or kids who simply decide to start using the potty. But for most families, potty training takes time and patience – and if you don’t have those requirements right now, then you’re doing the right thing.
Oftentimes, kids will show an interest in using the potty between 18 and 24 months of age. “Children at this age like to imitate adults and like to be praised,” says Dr. Anna Strumba, a pediatrician at West Bloomfield Pediatrics. She recommends starting the process when children are 2, unless they aren’t interested or parents and caregivers can’t devote time just then.
“A child who can walk and talk, who can show you by gesturing or words what she needs, could be potty trained,” Dr. Strumba says. “She still will need your help with getting her to the bathroom and undressing. The child’s role is to let you know that she needs to go.”
She says to pick a low-stress week or two, and start a routine of using the potty when your child is most likely to go – for example, right after waking in the morning or from a nap, and after a good meal. “Each time the attempt is successful, you should reward your child by clapping, kissing, singing and dancing.”
If your child doesn’t potty but tries, praise him for the effort. He’ll be more likely to try again if there’s no pressure. “During the day, you will have to do bathroom trips every two hours or so,” Dr. Strumba says.
“At this stage, your child still needs diapers or Pull-Ups. When you do it consistently for several weeks, then move on to cotton during the day and a Pull-Up at night.”
She stresses that potty training shouldn’t be a battle. “If your child is ‘on strike,’ leave him alone for some time and return to potty training later. Never push if your child has constipation. And remember: most people that we see around us are potty trained, so you are bound to succeed at some point.”
The American Academy of Pediatrics released the new, 2011 policy on car seats. The biggest change from the previous policy is that parents are now advised to keep their toddlers in rear-facing car seats until age 2, or until they reach the maximum height and weight for their seat. The recommendation is supported by new research showing that children under age 2 are 75 percent less likely to die or be severely injured in a crash if they are riding rear-facing.
The previous policy, from 2002, cited age 12 months and 20 pounds as a minimum to ride forward-facing. As a result, many parents turned the seat to face the front of the car when their child celebrated his [Continue reading...]
To many new mothers feeding babies anything but the breast milk or formula can be a difficult task. Parents often have questions regarding what to start with and how much to give and how often and what to stay away from.
In reality it is not as complicated as it seems to be. Here some simple rules.
You may start solids between 5 and 6 months of babies age. Pick the time of the day when your baby has the best disposition and appetite, and give solids BEFORE you give the bottle or your breast. Start with a single ingredient food: powdered rice cereal mixed with breast milk or formula that your baby is used to. If your baby has [Continue reading...]
Women have been helping other women breastfeed for millennia. As a pediatrician and as a woman I daily work together with mothers to prevent and solve breastfeeding problems. I feel it will be only appropriate for me to seek the International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) credential. Next week (the week of November 1, 2010) I will be out of town attending an intensive 5-day Lactation Specialist Course offered by Lactation Education Consultants. This course qualifies participants for the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners (IBLCE) certification exam.
It is stressful enough to be a parent of a healthy baby. It is many times more stressful to make decisions when your child is sick. What medicine to use, and whether to use any medicine at all? Take the child to the hospital now, or wait till morning and then call the office for an appointment? What food or liquid give to the baby? These questions must be answered promptly. That is why we pediatricians are available 24/7: just call our answering service and be connected to a doctor on call.
When to call?
We are here to help you, and do not mind at all midnight calls about urgent problems. Some examples include: fever in a baby younger [Continue reading...]
While meeting parents before their baby is born or speaking to the mother of a newborn at the hospital, I am amazed at how many mothers have a totally distorted view on breastfeeding. From “I was fed formula, so I will feed my babies the same” to “I do not want to do it because it hurts”. These mothers do not realize that they are the victims of the culture, formula-feeding culture that is. Our country is probably unique: the formula industry totally changed the approach to feeding the baby, and breastfeeding is often viewed as an anachronism or inconvenience. We have lost the community/family knowledge about this process because for many generations babies were fed formula only. Where will [Continue reading...]
Disclaimer: No medical advice, diagnosis or treatment on this site; not even if you are a current patient of Dr. Strumba. For more details, read Terms and Conditions.
Hurray! I have achieved a certification and a title of an 
Anna Strumba MD, FAAP, IBCLC is a 
