What is an Adoption Physician?

An adoption doctor is a physician who specializes in complexities of Domestic and International  adoption. There is normal formal education or residency training.

These physicians are often General Pediatricians, Infectious disease specialist and Developmental Pediatrics. Most of the training comes from years of reading and experience in dealing with Adoption Cases. An adoption doctor will help you before, during, and after the adoption is complete.

Before the Adoption  Before you adopt, an adoption doctor can help you interpret the medical records of the child to determine any medical issues the child has and help you determine if the child is the best fit for your family.  They help with education and support of the adoptive parents. What an adoption doctors does not do is “PIck a Child”, the can at best assign an unbiased risk category for the case.

During the adoption, an adoption doctor will help you prepare for the child and give you some helpful advice. They are often available via technology to help support the parents while they are away on their travel and situations come up.

After the adoption, the adoption doctor will complete a comprehensive physical exam and refer the child to any specialists. With cases of International Adoption, an adoption doctor will complete a battery of laboratory screenings, evaluation of growth status, immunization counseling, and developmental screening, as well as a complete medical examination .Often times they can continue with General Pediatric care too.

Now that you know what we do, feel free to reach out to us if needed.