A Vegan Pediatrician

[SalinaT]

I have a new insurance plan that considers my naturopathic physician a specialist. :mad: We need to find a M.D. in our plan, but there are hundreds to choose from! I don't know how to weed them out.

How did you find a pediatrician that supported a vegan/vegetarian lifestyle?:confused:

Do I need to call one by one, or is there a listing somewhere? How did you find the "right" one? (None of my family/freinds are vegetarian so I don't have any close recommendations.)

Also, if any of you have traditional pediatricians, I would like to know what obstacles/questions came up.

[Erin Pavlina]

Vegan pediatricians are few and far between.

Pediatricians who support a vegan lifestyle are more easily found but still difficult.

A pediatrician who knows how to treat disease and injuries in kids is all you really need. What reason would diet come up anyway?

Do omnivorous women ever mention to their peds, "By the way, I thought you should know that I feel my child meat." No, they don't bother to mention it because it's the norm. Well what does being vegan have to do with having a pediatrician? You're not seeing a ped to get nutrition advice, right? Do you tell your lawyer that your car needs servicing because there's a funny noise in the engine?

Now vaccines... that's another issue entirely. Finding a ped who is supportive of non-vaccinating is important if you've decided not to vaccinate. In that case I'd call the peds on the list and ask them if they will treat/see a child who is not vaccinated.

[Sheree]

Usually a doctor or nurse practitioner would have to refer you to a specialist. So, you might want to get a regular pediatrition and then see if they can refer you. I hope this works out, I know that it's just more comfortable going to a naturopath...conventional doctors have always looked at me funny when I tell them I give my daughther soy or rice milk and soy cheese when they ask me if she's getting enough dairy. They just don't know any better, I suppose it's not entirely their fault.

Best Wishes to you and your family.

[henrysmom]

Our sons doctor is really accepting of our veganism. It was my first statement to her, to see if I would accept her as my son's doctor. She knew what it was and didn't think it was wrong or unhealthy. Plus I still breastfeed and she is supportive of this too. Her name is Dr. Stacey Waneka. Located on 10th St. in Santa Monica.

[Ckflew]

I moved to a new town a year ago, and just DREADED the thought of finding a new doctor who would at least understand my dietary choices. In going through the huge list they gave me to choose from, I consciously chose a doctor who was from India. I figured that at least she was from a culture that had (religious) vegetarians, which would stop the questions I have heard from other doctors about protein sources. She is not a vegan (and I haven't discussed that with her), but at least she understands some of my choices. I was making a lot of assumptions about people from India, but in this case, it paid off!

Colleen