What in the world, you may ask, is an “adoption doctor”? Adoption is not a disease, after all! (In fact, I still remember how disturbed I was the first time I went to the library for information on adoption. Instead of being in the parenting section, “Adoption” books were shelved between “Addiction” and “AIDS”. )
Nevertheless, a new subspecialty has developed in adoption medicine. The American Academy of Pediatrics has a new committee for it.
Why? Especially with the advent of international adoption, many doctors were unfamiliar with the terminology used by doctors overseas and were unable to advise parents and adoption workers what the medical information listed in the referrals actually meant.
In the early days of international adoption, some countries were suspected of hiding children’s real problems. Interestingly, other countries were interested in keeping their “healthy” children and allowing only “special needs” children to be adopted out of country. Sympathetic physicians sometimes invented or exaggerated conditions for children to allow them to get out of the orphanage. One referral had a long, scary-sounding condition which, translated, turned out to mean that the baby had a poor sense of smell! (The baby was five months old at the time.)
Additionally, children from overseas sometimes had gastrointestinal parasites and other conditions not commonly seen by modern Western doctors.
Emotional and developmental conditions also may be different. Adoption doctors are familiar with concerns that may affect post-institutionalized children from orphanages, and with bonding and attachment issues common to adopted children whether they are from the U.S. foster care system, foster care or orphanages abroad,
Adoption doctors typically do three main things: consultations on the medical and developmental issues of children referred for adoption, testing once adopted children arrive, and ongoing care of adopted children. Some doctors also make themselves available by phone or pager to parents traveling overseas to pick up their children.
Some doctors do all of these things. Depending on distance, some parents will use an adoption doctor only for telephone consultation prior to accepting a referral. Others will bring the child to an adoption specialist upon arrival to be testing for parasites and other conditions not common to Western children, and/or for initial advice on bonding and development. Still others may continue to see the adoption doctor as a primary care provider.
To find an adoption doctor in your area, start by clicking here:
Please also see these related blogs:
Adoption Doctors A Great Resource For Families Adopting Internationally
Attaching in Adoption by: Deborah Gray