Kaiser Berkeley Pediatricians

I know you said Dr Tenney isn’t taking patients’ but if you get her for a sick visit you can ask her to open up her panel and add you. 

She’s AMAZING! She’s the pediatrician for both of my kiddos. I breastfeed the first until 2 and stopped because I started IVF again. 

Give it a try! 

What! 
All three of my kids see Dr. Fort in Berkeley. She’s great and “low intervention”. My eldest was booked by a random Dr after an ER visit for a tonsillectomy and she was like wait wait let’s try these things first. I could tell she cared not just going by Kaiser protocol. I’ve also nursed all my babies for 2 years and 2 of them through entire pregnancies and tandem nursed in the hospital. No judgement 

That is so strange - is your pediatrician aware that the AAP now recommends breastfeeding for 2 years and beyond, if mutually desired by mother and child? I am so surprised your pediatrician is so concerned! My daughter is just under a year so I don't know what her pediatrician will say when she is over a year, but Dr. Fort at Berkeley is very kind and we have been happy with her so far. So sorry to hear about what you're going through!

Sorry you're dealing with that, a pediatrician shouldn't be discouraging continued breastfeeding! We see Sam Backus at Kaiser Berkeley, and he has been wonderful, and very supportive of ongoing breastfeeding. He was accepting new patients as of a couple months ago. 

That is wild! Maybe consider looking for someone in the family medicine department? I take my (breastfed) one year old to Dr. Angelica Zen at the Berkeley office. She has three young ones of her own and is lovely. I just got myself added to her panel as well so we can handle both our medical to-dos in one visit. Im not sure if she’s taking new patients either but perhaps there are others in the dept? We had a couple appts with VanArsdell (sp?) while Dr zen was out on maternity leave earlier this year and she also seemed great.

Hi there, that seems odd and not evidence-based (not in line with recommendations from American Academy of Pediatrics, WHO, etc who encourage continued breastfeeding beyond 1 year, as long as baby is getting the majority of their calories from solid food.) Has your pediatrician explained why they have these concerns specifically? 
We see Dr. Berry-Millet at Kaiser Berkeley, who is awesome, but in general I think KP is supportive towards continued breastfeeding, so I would be surprised if you encounter other providers who discourage it. 
 

Most importantly, as long as continued nursing is still working for both you and your baby, don’t let an uninformed care provider discourage you : ) 
 

I breastfed until ~27 months and Dr. Daniel Junge at Kaiser Berkeley never said anything that I deemed unsupportive. Solid foods did become a primary source of nutrition somewhere between 1-1.5 years and I was no longer breastfeeding at night after 6 months. I share only to provide context not to judge your situation.

I'm sorry you're having that experience and if you feel comfortable I recommend filing a complaint with Kaiser. 

That is troubling, sorry to hear it. I've never had a conversation with our pediatrician specifically about extended breastfeeding, but when it's come up that I'm still breastfeeding our son, she has definitely not had a problem with it or encouraged us to wean. She is Dr. Diana Ong at Berkeley Kaiser. My son is 14 months and an enthusiastic eater, the breastfeeding is just morning and evening bonding at this point rather than nutrition.

In my opinion (and full disclaimer, I'm a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner), you can do no better than Jennifer Tenney, MD. She used to be Kaiser Oakland, but made the move over to the new  Berkeley campus. I understand if her panel is full - she's so excellent that she may not have room for more patients. But she is all the things you want in a Pediatrician - smart, kind, really thoughtful about her care plans, a great educator to parents and a friendly, warm, skilled provider to the kids. If she has a waitlist, definitely get on it. We moved farther away than I would ideally like to be for a pediatrician, but I'm loathe to let her go, so I'll make the drive for well-child checks. 

Dr. Nelson-Munson is great in Berkeley. Awesome with kids and super smart!

Dr. Christina Sullivan at Kaiser Berkeley

In my experience, Kaiser is super pro-breastfeeding. The materials I've gotten from Kaiser recommend breastfeeding for "at least" the first year. My baby is nearing the one-year mark and we're still breastfeeding, and our pediatrician (Dr. Jennifer Tenney) has been supportive and never suggested I should stop. I don't know about co-sleeping, but I don't think anyone really cares about co-sleeping once a kid is around 1 since there's no plausible danger anymore, and if it works for you, it works! 

Dr. Jennifer Tenney. She’s wonderful. 

4 months?? Do you mean 4 years? I'm sort of kidding, but really - you're getting talked to about weaning around the 1 year mark? That's... interesting. I can wholeheartedly recommend Dr. Jennifer Tenney (formerly at Kaiser Oakland, now at Kaiser Berkeley, which is a wonderful campus). I honestly believe you can do no better when it comes to Pediatricians. She is all the things: supportive, informed, conscientious, caring, friendly, super smart! I breast-fed my youngest until he was almost 4! It was just at bedtime for the last 2 years or so, but it was fine. One caveat: Dr. Tenney's "panel" may be full - I don't know that she's accepting new patients - but you can always try! 

Dr. Junge was in the Kaiser Oakland Office but is now in Berkeley medical offices. I found him to be very supportive of our decisions (I breastfed into toddlerhood). 

Dr. Tenney at Kaiser Berkeley has been totally chill about extended breastfeeding & co sleeping. She is generally very chill, razor sharp, very curious, and we love her as a pediatrician.