Seeking a Pediatrician Who Supports Breastfeeding
Parent Q&A
Archived Q&A and Reviews
Truly pro-breastfeeding doctor
May 2003
I didn't see this discussed anywhere on the website, so thought I'd put it out there: does anyone out there know of a truly pro- breastfeeding pediatrician? One who has certified/licensed lactation consultants on staff, isn't always recommending introducing a bottle, and who can help me find a doctor to see about any problems I have with my breasts? I'm having pain in my breasts, but I don't know whom to see, and I'd like to be able to call my baby's doctor to ask for a referral, but I don't think he's very knowledgeable about breastfeeding. He thinks the baby gets most of what he needs in the first 5 minutes, always recommends trying a bottle of either breastmilk or formula (''it won't hurt your supply any'' -- yeah right), and did not have me see a lactation consultant right after birth, which I think he should have. Even Kaiser pediatrics does this! Oh, and the doctor should accept blue shield HMO. Jennifer
I believe that Michael Usem at Primary Pediatric is a truly pro- breastfeeding pediatrician. We had planned on using him only for the Day 1 check up at Summit, but then our daughter developed some complications, and so we had to go back to the office very soon after leaving the hospital. We were so impressed with him that there is no way we would change physicians! We were already working with a lactation consultant by her two-week appointment when we found out that her weight gain had been quite inadequate. He was supportive of absolutely everything we were doing. Even when our lactation consultant and a breastfeeding mom/pediatrician friend of ours told us that it was time to seriously consider formula, Dr. Usem was happy with us continuing to exclusively breastfeed. It is clear that he would have referred us to a lactation consultant if we didn't already have one (or two or three) we were happy with. He even talked about our case with his wife, whom I believe is a lactation consultant. He never referred me to a physician to help me with issues with my breasts. I think that's for two reasons -- my midwife was helping me a tiny bit, and I don't think there really are physicians who deal with lactation at a very high level. I asked a bunch of people, and nobody knew of one, or even a field of medicine dealing with lactation. Eventually, we began supplementing with formula because my supply problems were insurmountable, and he was very supportive of that too. He is very mellow, sweet and knowlegeable. Their phone number is 510-433-1040 Tamar
Our pediatrician, Kathleen Smith, is very pro-breastfeeding. In fact, she is a breastfeeding mom herself. She is in the Oakland office of Primary Pediatrics (433-1040). I don't believe they have lactation consultants on staff (nor would I think any local pediatrician's office would have such a thing) but the office would probably have some recommendations for you (see mine below). For breast pain, would your ob/gyn be more knowledgeable ? I sought my own ob's advice when I was having trouble and pain with breastfeeding, Dr. Streitfeld. Also, his wife is an expert in breastfeeding and teaches classes, gives seminars, etc., so, by association, he's quite knowledgeable too ! As for my own lactation consultant, I called Tina Benitez and she came twice to my home for a very reasonable cost. After that, I could call her and ask her advice on anything from a plugged duct to the right nursing bra. I don't have her number right now (and in my new mom haze, I may not be spelling her name correctly). Send me e-mail if you would like her name and number. I believe she also spends a day a week at Alta Bates and a day at Children's Hospital of Oakland. boering
The pediatrician, if he is accepting new patients, you want is Myles Abbott, M.D. in Berkeley and Orinda. Brilliant, sweet, and hugely, highly, enthusiastically supportive of breastfeeding mamas. I nursed both of my children for 3 years, and he never once told me, asked me, etc. to stop. He applauded my commitment to breastfeed them exclusively and, even, with both children, made a comment that breastfed children's skin looks different than non-breastfed children. We have Blue Cross insurance, which Myles does not accept, so we pay ''cash.'' I do think, however, because I have referred him many a Blue Shield friend, that he does (or used to accept) accept Blue Shield. As far as lactation specialists who are in Myles' office, I wouldn't know about that. Can he refer you on to someone excellent--ABSOLUTELY. He is the king of always knowing to whom he should refer a patient (and parent). If you end up with Myles, tell him Danna sent you. I am his biggest fan and, as an additional endorsement, am very hard to please. Kudos to you for nursi ADORES the pediatrician
I love our ''doctor'' she's actually a nurse practitioner. her name is Jen Wineman and she is with Primary Pediatrics. They have offices in Oakland and Alameda. The number in Alameda is 510-523-3123- they may have a seperate number for Oakland. They also have another nurse practitioner who works there who is a big breastfeeding proponet but I am spacing her name- the office should be able to tell you though. Good luck. Juliette
I don't know the answer to all of your questions, but we have found Dr. Janet Perlman at Bayside Medical Group to be very pro- breastfeeding and supportive in the face of the breastfeeding challenges that we are facing. We saw a lactation consultant before seeing the doctor, but she has been supportive of the advice that we have received and seems as anxious as we are to wean our baby off of supplementation and transition to exclusive breastfeeding. There is a lactation consultant on staff (who is on vacation so we haven't seen her), but seeing her is billed as an office visit, which is a plus. anon
Dr. Salzburg at Kiwi Pediatrics seems to be very pro- breastfeeding. We started seeing her when my son was about one. At the one-year well baby visit she asked me if I was getting any pressure to stop breastfeeding now that my son was a year old. She also talked in a very positive way about extended breastfeeding and asked if I needed any support. We didn't go much deeper than that because my breastfeeding is going really well, but I'm sure she would have been very helpful if I'd needed any assistance. I also think Dr. Robin Winokur (in the same office) is also very pro-breastfeeding, although I haven't talked to her about it as much. Kathryn
We see Robin Winokur from Kiwi on Alcatraz Avenue (phone: (510) 6521720), and she fully encourages breastfeeding. When I had a question about medication (for me) compatible with nursing it was her who had the information right there, while my own doctor never got back to me about it. The first doctor from this practice we saw was David Kittams. He came to see us in the hospital right after our daughter was born. He was very supportive of breastfeeding, recommended a lactation consultant in case we have problems. He also encouraged to see her in any case, which we didn't do, but maybe should have done because as I learned later my position wasn't good (fine for my baby, but I got neck-shoulder pain and wrist problems). I am sorry to her about your breast problems. With some advice things may get better soon. As new mothers we have to do so many things for the first time, that it is not surprising that some of them don't work out so well for the baby or for the mother. In particular with breastfeeding it's very important to get support quickly. Several of my friends got immediate support and good advice by women from La Lech League. Did you try to call them, or did you go to their monthly meetings (1st Thursday, 10-12 at Birth & Bonding in Solany, please call to make sure this info is up to date)? They are very experienced. Pediatric interships from Childrens Hospital actually go to those meetings to learn about breastfeeding. Also, there are a couple of good books on the topic, for example ''The womanly art of breastfeeding'' by LLL. All the best for you and your baby, Julia
My daughter is now 4, and we breastfed until 2.5. She has always seen Dr. Anabel Kim at Kaiser Oakland and it has never come up more than a question if we were still breastfeeding or not.
I have Dr. Phu in Oakland and like him a lot. I nursed my second child through around age 2 and he never said anything about discouraging it. Not sure if he is accepting new patients.
That's super surprising! One year is the minimum to stop breastfeeding. My experience at Kaiser has been supportive of breastfeeding well past 1 (unless it's, say, replacing learning to eat solids/getting enough iron through solids). We're at Richmond so maybe not helpful but we like our ped Jaygopal Nair and he's accepting patients. If you're interested, I could ask him specifically about breastfeeding (DM me).
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.
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.
My pediatrician is Junge at Kaiser Berkeley, and he was fine when I was breastfed both kids til 2 years. He was most concerned about tooth decay, especially at night, so he put flouride treatments on my youngest to help with that. His biggest concern was really the night feeding.
My kids teeth seem fine now, for the record :)
I apologize because I don't have a recommendation for you; I looked for our former pediatrician but she seems to have left. I just want to support your breastfeeding past a year. That is really disturbing, in this day and age, to have a pediatrician who doesn't approve. I assume your milk is supplementing your child's eating in which case, what is the doctor's concern? It's totally natural and for those of us who enjoyed breastfeeding, a wonderful connection with one's child. I breastfed for 2 1/2 years. You go, Mama!!!!
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 don't have a specific ped. to suggest, but I hope it's still ok for me to post this.
The official policies of both the AAP and the World Health Organization specify support for human milk feeding for two years —and beyond if desired, so any "concern" about following that guidance is itself concerning. This is NOT "extended" breastfeeding (is there such a thing?).
Unless the concern is that baby is only breastfeeding (little to no other food), your pediatrician needs to get up to date!
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.
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 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!
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
Hi there,
I'm sorry that this has been your experience and I'm glad you're trusting your intuition and seeking a new, more supportive provider. I breastfed my eldest child until he was almost 4 and I still breastfeed my 2.5 year old. Even well-intended people, friends and family included, have questioned me, or raised an eyebrow, at my extended breastfeeding.
I am a Kaiser patient and my kids see Dr. Nelson-Munson; I was able to get on her full panel after switching from a pedi who was not a great match. In my case, I had done Centering Pregnancy with Dr. Nelson-Munson, and she was able to take us on after I messaged her directly. She's great. I'm not sure it would work, but you could try reaching out to Member Services or the Berkeley/Oakland Family Medicine/Pediatrics office and explain the situation to see if one of the more supportive providers can fit you into their panel. Someone from member services or one of the offices might be able to directly message a provider with a full panel to see if there's wiggle room. I also might check with Kaiser Oakland's breastfeeding services/lactation consultants - perhaps they maintain a list of supportive providers.
If you happen to be on Facebook, I highly recommend joining Bay Area Breastfeeding Support: https://www.facebook.com/groups/211086202257411/. It's run by a RN who is also a lactation consultant and does/has (?) worked for Kaiser. The group is a phenomenal resource for all things breastfeeding & very supportive of extended breastfeeding (and weaning too, when you & your kiddo are ready). The community there would likely have provider recommendations. I believe the group is invite-only, so feel free to message me privately if you would like an invite to the group, or if you would like me to ask the group on your behalf re: recommended providers if you don't use FB.
La Leche League also comes to mind; I have no idea if they maintain a list of recommended Kaiser providers, but their Oakland chapter has been helpful to me in the past.
Best of luck!
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!
We see Dr. Pelly Fan and she's always been supportive of my breastfeeding (my oldest (now 5) was a little over 2 when I stopped and I'm still nursing my little guy a 2.5 years). Good luck!