March 11, 2024 • 26 mins
Unlock the secrets to nurturing the best possible relationship with your child's pediatrician, as Dr. Emeka Obidi, a luminary in pediatric care, joins us to discuss the art of making the right choice for your little one's health. Feel the weight of decision lift, as Dr. Obidi, with his rich experience and founder of Newborn Prep Academy, guides us through the often-overwhelming process with ease and expertise. From the critical zero to five years to addressing special needs, we cover the spectrum of concerns and emphasize the power of a parent's intuition in advocating for their child's well-being.
This episode is your portal to mastering the nuances of effective communication and collaboration with healthcare professionals. Dr. Obidi illuminates the path for new parents on how to harness technology to keep track of their newborn's health, ensuring nothing slips through the cracks. Learn how to prepare for pediatric visits with savvy, and discover the resources at your fingertips for those first precious months with your newborn. Together, we're fostering partnerships between families and pediatricians that are rooted in mutual respect and the shared goal of your child's thriving future.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (00:00):
Hello everyone, welcome to another episode of
Brain Power.
with Dr Eko, I have a wonderfulguest with us today, Dr Emeka
Obidi.
He's an amazing pediatrician, afather, amazing entrepreneur, a
husband.
Did I say that?
I did actually that one out.
So welcome to the podcast, drObidi, and I'm going to let you
(00:23):
introduce yourself to theaudience.
Dr. Emeka Obidi (00:26):
Sure.
Thank you for having me on.
This is going to be a wonderfultime together.
My name is Dr Obidi Dr EmekaObidi.
I'm a pediatrician.
I've been practicing for maybe20 years now and it's crazy how
time flies, but I'm apediatrician.
I run a family practice inWestern Maryland, hagerstown,
(00:46):
maryland.
Partners in pediatrics andfamily health.
We also see online educationfor new moms, or expected moms,
called Newborn Prep Academy,where we really educate moms on
what to expect from theirnewborns and help them Just take
care of the newborns with a lotof confidence, and that's fun
to do as well.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (01:04):
And thank you for having me on hey, I'm so
glad you're here.
So we're going to talk todayabout the things that parents
need to look out for whenpicking a pediatrician, and even
tips on how to make thatrelationship really rich, so
that you are getting the mostout of the relationship you have
with your child's doctor.
(01:26):
So tell us, Dr Obidi, what aresome things that parents first
of all should be looking forwhen they're trying to pick a
pediatrician for their child.
Dr. Emeka Obidi (01:36):
I was just thinking, especially for your
audience, that this is soimportant because, especially if
you have a kid who may have adevelopmental concern that
you're concerned about, or kidwith autism diagnosis or
anything and this certainlyapplies for all kids, even the
healthy kids your pediatricianis like this touch point for
(01:57):
their health, right, and I'mgoing to use the word
pediatrician to involve otherclinicians that may take care of
the kids also, so you mighthave an MP, a nurse practitioner
or a physician assistant caringfor your kid, but it's really
important that you are payingattention to that relationship
and who you choose to be apediatrician.
Yes, you're going to look atthings like how far away is the
(02:21):
office and what hours are theyopen and do they take my
insurance If you're usinginsurance for medical care, and
all of those.
But at the end of the day, Ithink one of the most important
factors is really beingcomfortable with this person.
Of course, I did qualify tocare for my kid and usually the
(02:43):
vast majority of cliniciansproviders are going to be
qualified to care for your kid.
But at the end of the day, therehas to be that connection there
.
You have to have someone thatyou're comfortable speaking with
that you're comfortablebringing up concerns with, that,
you feel confident when they'vegiven you some advice, that I
(03:04):
feel confident that they'vegiven me good advice that I can
carry out or adhere to, and thatis also someone that you can
challenge as well, like if Idon't understand this, tell me
why.
So it's really important thatthere's that connection and a
lot of pediatricians will allowyou come visit and come see them
for a first visit just to getto meet them, which, if that's
(03:29):
possible, I think you shouldjump at that opportunity If
you're a mom expecting a childor I've even had that happen in
my practice, where parents orparents have a kid with special
needs and they're not quite sure.
They've probably had some badexperiences in the past and so
they wanted to come see me firstand just meet me and I've been
(03:49):
completely okay with that and Ithink it's important that
there's that connection.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (03:55):
You're absolutely right and like the
part where you said makesomebody that you can ask
questions of, because it's soimportant that parents feel
comfortable asking.
And parents, I want you toremember that you know your
child the best.
The nutrition eat your childfor a few minutes, right, yes?
(04:16):
Or what?
30 minutes at best, but youknow your child the best and
it's so important for you to askthe questions because we don't
always know all the.
I mean, sometimes we ask basicquestions, but if you have any
questions, it's so important toask and feel comfortable asking
those questions and not feellike you're being put down if
(04:36):
you ask questions.
Dr. Emeka Obidi (04:37):
So yeah, yeah, no very much, because I think a
lot of times parents areintimidated by credentials and
our training and traditionally,you know, the position is so
pedestal that can never make anywrong.
You know, do anything wrong.
And traditionally you've alsohad, oftentimes, unfortunately,
(04:59):
doctors who are like you know,why are you challenging what I
said?
You know I'm the one who's theexpert.
I went, you know, spent allthese years in school studying
this material.
You know, how did you tell methat you don't think that's
what's correct, what's going onright?
Or even be offended when youbring, when you say, well, on
Google, you know, dr Google saidXYZ.
(05:21):
Like, how can you bring up DrGoogle when I am the expert here
?
Right, but that doesn't help,right?
Because then what happens isyou have parents who are afraid
to mention something thatthey're concerned about because
they don't want to appear stupidor put down for bringing up
this concern, right?
(05:41):
So it's really important thatyou choose someone you're
comfortable with bringing upconcerns.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (05:48):
Yes, so critical .
And let's talk about theparents who may not completely
say all that's going on with thechild because they have a fear
of a diagnosis.
Dr. Emeka Obidi (05:59):
That's the difficult one, right?
I think that's why I said youalso have to try and pick
someone or develop thatrelationship with your
pediatrician where you arecomfortable or have some degree
of confidence in what they're,in information that passes on to
you.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (06:20):
Right.
Dr. Emeka Obidi (06:21):
I know that there can be a human tendency.
I think this sometimes has todo with personality.
There are some people who justwant to know it, tell me what.
Like if I said I have good newsand bad news.
You know, what do you want forus?
Like, some of the bad news justget out of the way, right?
There are some people who likedonate the bad news for as long
as possible.
Maybe don't even tell me so.
(06:44):
Sometimes it may have to do withpersonality as well, but when
it comes to your child, though,on a serious note, if there is a
concern, wishing it away is notgoing to change that right.
And oftentimes in pediatricsand what we do, kids are still
developing, and so there aretimes where the earlier you can
(07:06):
identify something, the betterthe outcome is down the road
when you're able to bring theright treatment plan to bear,
whether that's medication ortherapy or whatever right.
So take something as simple asa speech delay right, if there
is a speech delay, try to wishthat we are saying no, they're
just lay talkers.
(07:26):
No, you know, the older brotherdoes, you know, spoke when he
was like three years old andhe's fine right now.
Like you know, no, like ifthere's a concern, there's
nothing wrong in saying thischild has a speech delay,
because then we can start somespeech therapy early and the
earlier that starts, the betterthe outcome down the road.
Right, I mean I don't feeldetritus.
(07:46):
I have three kids.
My youngest was 10 years oldnow.
Son.
There was some speech delay,right, and I was able to.
We had a great program herebirth to five infant toddlers
program.
I got him hooked to earlier on.
I remember how old he was down,maybe three years old, and it
did wonders.
He really blossomed and in notime he graduated from the
(08:10):
program and you know now we canget sub talking.
But yes, so things like that,the earlier.
I mean autism diagnosis is thebig one, right?
Parents are just afraid to hearthat diagnosis, understandably,
you know.
I always say to my parents whoare parents of special needs
kids whatever that diagnosis,hats off to you, because that is
(08:33):
, you know, those are heavyissues to walk in and big issues
to walk in and those parentsjust have big hearts and just
such large capacity to care fortheir kids.
It's amazing the love they havefor their kids.
But diagnosis like that, thefarther out you get that
diagnosis made, the moredifficult it is to provide that
(08:54):
timely intervention to have asgood an outcome as you can.
So, yes, it's a difficultdiagnosis to hear, yes, there's
probably going to be somedifficult road to walk through,
but we're starting this earlyenough where there's also a
possible better outcome at theend of the day also, or, I guess
I'm getting all the support Ineed right.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (09:16):
Yes, that's such a critical.
I'm so glad you brought that up, because we as pediatricians
always talk about zero to fivelike that.
That's period is such acritical period for great growth
.
So if there's any issues goingon there's best to identify,
then you can do the turnaroundand that's when we're going to
move.
So now it goes in the different, in the positive direction,
(09:38):
versus we still.
The child is eight and nowwe're trying to go back and
trend.
That doesn't mean it can'thappen, it's absolutely very
road to climb.
Then if the child is between theages of under five, then it's
easier to make changes.
Dr. Emeka Obidi (09:53):
Absolutely.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (09:54):
So I'm glad you brought that up and for parents
to know that.
Back to your point about thesupport, because if they have to
hear difficult diagnosis thenthey want someone who can walk
beside them on the journey thatthey go on, to help them.
Dr. Emeka Obidi (10:10):
And, like I said earlier on, parents, they
are the child's best advocate.
They really, like you said, weget to see them for just a few
minutes at a time, but they arethere with that child all day
long, day in, day out.
So, like you know, when younotice, when you're comfortable
about something you're noticingin your child, you want to
(10:30):
certainly bring it up.
I think that dress early, butalso it's the other way around.
Also, the pediatrician ismentioning something that
they're concerned about, becausesometimes that's pediatricians
A child comes into the exam roomor into our space and we're and
we can just tell this, maybesomething off right With
interaction, with the waythey're carrying themselves,
with what they're seeing or howthey're looking or what they're
(10:52):
doing right, and so sometimesour own wanting bells go off
like or there may be somethinghere, and so we're digging into
it some more, right?
So it's a two-way street and ifyour pediatrician is telling
you something maybe off withyour child, hopefully they're
saying bringing it up in asensitive way.
But you should also feelcomfortable asking questions or
(11:18):
challenging that information ordiagnosis in a way where, okay,
there's back and forth and like,okay, why do you say that you
know what should you know mythought I'd rather be doing
right now that you're not doing.
Okay, could we just be?
Maybe this is just delayed andthere's nothing wrong, you know.
And so there's back and forth.
You should feel comfortablechallenging the information that
(11:40):
, at the end of the day, when weare right at a plan, you're
comfortable with that plan.
I oftentimes oftentimes when I'minteracting with a parent, at
the end of the day and I've toldthem all these things we're
going to do, I'm like how doesthat sound to you?
Because I really want to see.
Okay, do you feel like this isa workable plan?
Because if you're, and if Isense a hesitation, I'm like,
(12:03):
okay, let's talk about it.
What part of this plan isuncomfortable or you feel is not
correct?
Or let's really dive into it.
So maybe I'm giving you morereasoning why I think this is a
great way to go, or listen towhat you're seeing, and maybe I
haven't considered somethingelse, right?
So I guess it's back and forthand that's why it's so critical
(12:24):
to have the right pediatricianfor your child, because it
allows us to care for your kidand allows you to get care for
your kid that is conducive tomaking sure you have the best
health outcome 2 million percentcorrect.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (12:43):
It's so critical because you want peace of mind.
If you, as a parent, you're not, you're not, your mind is not
at peace, your child will sensethat you're not at peace and
then this whole this goes on andon and on.
Dr. Emeka Obidi (12:54):
It takes your entire life and your days.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (12:57):
So ask the question.
If something seems off to you,trust your gut feeling.
Dr. Emeka Obidi (13:02):
Yeah, and there's also nothing wrong with
getting a second opinion.
Yeah, oftentimes when, whenthere's a concern like the
parent brings up a concern and Ifeel like there's not much to a
constant there, first of allyou want a pediatrician who will
never dismiss any concern youhave, like, without first
(13:23):
investigating.
And investigating doesn'tnecessarily mean they were doing
some tests or they were doingsome therapy or whatever.
It may just mean that we'reasking questions, right, you
don't say, oh, I'm concernedabout you know the way Johnny
speaks.
I'm like, oh, he's fine, youknow, there's nothing wrong
there.
I just heard him speak rightnow.
He's okay.
Right, look at me, someone else.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (13:43):
Where's the?
Dr. Emeka Obidi (13:44):
exit door?
Right, they should have askedthe question why do you say so?
What's going on?
Tell me some more about this,right?
So that's part of thatinvestigation.
But if I do arrive which of thetimes we do as pediatricians,
right?
Oh no, I mean, we've seen somany kids.
Well, we have our formaleducation.
Oftentimes we have our own kids.
(14:04):
They will both have experiencetaking care of so many kids.
But sometimes we just know that,yes, they're concerned, but
there's really not a concernhere, right?
So even if your pediatrician issaying there isn't a concern
right now, they should also beproviding an environment where
they leave the door open for youto bring this up again.
So I often will say, okay, Ithink there's really nothing
(14:27):
going on.
Yeah, I think you're okay, Ithink you know this is normal,
or this is a normal part ofdevelopment, or I don't see what
you're seeing right now, butlet's see what happens over the
next few weeks or next fewmonths, or no less.
Let's see how things go.
But bring it up again.
If you're still concerned,bring it up again and let's look
at it again, right?
So I just feel, okay, I can,I'm okay with this, right, he's
(14:52):
not dismissing it or she's notdismissing it completely.
They've given me someinformation.
I'll consider it, I'll go backand look.
But they've also met the dooropen for me to bring this up
again, right, and so that wayyou can say hey, you know, I'm
still concerned about his speech.
I'm still concerned about theway she, you know, lives up her
(15:14):
toys.
I'm still concerned about theway she's interacting with you
know, people you know in herclass, whatever.
And then we can talk about itagain and say, okay, maybe we
should do something this time.
Maybe I should send you forfurther testing or or
evaluations to see there'ssomething else there.
And sometimes, you know, I willsend parents just get an
evaluation, even when I thinkthere's nothing there.
If it's still a persistentconcern.
(15:36):
Like I said, they're botheredright, and sometimes there's
value in just having someoneelse look at it and someone else
tell them okay, it's okay, oror it's just constipation.
Use the mirror laxity, wait upto be told it's using mirror
laxity, you'll be fine and makesure you start to do your mouth,
foot and veggies and water andyou'll be okay.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (15:56):
But until they see the.
Dr. Emeka Obidi (15:57):
GI specialist, you know to say the same thing.
They're going to be concernedand it's really something else
causing the constipation, andnot the fact that you know my
daughter only drinks like fiveounces of water a day.
I don't mean chicken nuggets.
I trust me with all being there, my acting son has a different
constipation I had to remind himto drink his water, and so we
(16:19):
are saying this as parents whoare in the same shoes, right?
Dr. Hokehe Eko (16:23):
Who are in the?
Dr. Emeka Obidi (16:23):
same shoes I can't do.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (16:26):
I've had constipation and I know that's
what I talked about a lot thesedays Because a lot of the kids
like take care of with autism at8-digit, they are all about to
pay to them so for sure, parentsare the best parents for your
child.
Don't ever forget that fact and, like what you said about them
being the first advocate, andthat's so important to just
(16:47):
empower parents to know thatthey absolutely have to ask the
question.
Dr. Emeka Obidi (16:52):
Don't feel intimidated, we're just human
beings, see we are not humanbeings, we are Exactly we don't
bite.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (17:00):
No, we definitely don't bite.
You have to fight a non-bitingperson, right.
I have a one of white coats inlike 20 years Right, exactly, I
don't wear one either becausethere is some psychological
thing there with kids and peoplein white coats, and it's just
to know that you are in chargeof your child and, yes, you may
(17:23):
not know all the medical lingo,but you know your child better
than any other human being.
So yeah that we may miss.
Please bring it up.
I think that you miss and if webring it up, you have an open
mind and just have a dialogue.
Dr. Emeka Obidi (17:39):
Yeah, yeah, I think you know one of the other
things also I'm just thinkingabout.
It is and this will go back to,maybe, especially if you're
looking for get your first timeis Trying to get a bit more
about there, trying to see ifyour philosophy is also line up.
Right, we just help care andand the way you kept your kid in
(18:00):
the first place, then you feelthere's a collaboration there
and not so long as just going todictate what you know needs to
be done.
I don't have the question me,this is what we need to do,
right.
And then there's some thingswhere, where you want to make
sure you have a pediatrician whosort of lines up with how you
think about life in medicine andthe place for Traditional
(18:23):
medicine and the place forcomplementary medicine and the
place for all of these things,right.
If your mom who loves to be ableto explore more holistic care
or more natural ways of caringfor things, and you have a
pediatrician who Things you know, all of those have no place
(18:47):
whatsoever in your child's care,you're both going to like fun
heads, right.
And you're gonna say, oh, can'twe try this in the like no, you
have to take this medication,right and but you may also have
beyond me may be, rules may bereversed also where your mom,
who doesn't believe in any ofthat Complementary care but a
pediatrician, is always pushingthat complementary care right.
(19:07):
So you should sort of make surethat your philosophies are
aligned somewhat, you know,generally speaking, I think I
find that that helps also, andnot to say that it must always
be, you must always be on thesame side.
That's where also thecommunication in the back and
forth and being comfortabletalking about things is
important.
But where that may be a big,you know a big when you see the
(19:29):
world, it's helpful to havesomeone walk alongside with you
as a healthcare practitioner whosees the world that way too.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (19:36):
Yes, absolutely right, Take notes.
Dr. Emeka Obidi (19:40):
I would tell you what I tell my, and
especially my parents of newbornand I say bring on your phone.
They're being I'm like that'smy best friend right there.
I want you to like open up anote section as questions come
up during the course of the daysand weeks of months.
Put them down there so when youcome in you don't forget.
If something looks funny, justtake a picture of it or shot
(20:01):
video recording because you knowthat's a great actor, actress,
it's bad.
Just show me the recording andtry to act out what they were
doing.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (20:09):
Oh, I love that.
Yes, you're pulling in yourbest friend.
Yes.
Dr. Emeka Obidi (20:14):
They tell me the book kind of look like a
sensation, a picture of the poop.
Oh, that's not all.
Oh well, maybe we should lookinto that somewhere.
That book looks funny.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (20:22):
Yeah, absolutely .
Oh, that's an important one.
Yes, we might as well use thetechnology that we have.
I know.
Dr. Emeka Obidi (20:28):
I used it.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (20:30):
And make voice notes, if you have to, to
yourself make voice notes.
Dr. Emeka Obidi (20:32):
Yes, that's a good one.
Yeah, I'm gonna add that to mylist.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (20:36):
Well, I have, I have patient, I mean like things
like seizures.
For sure, if you could catch avideo of it is so important then
, then describing what'spossibly could have happened.
I mean, sometimes it's notpossible, but if you can, yes,
the more pictures you can take,it helps us because we want to
see what's really going on, andwe want to see how.
Dr. Emeka Obidi (20:55):
Yes, yes, I saw a parent just the last few
weeks who's new born baby whohas had some eye movements and
she thankfully had capturedvideos of her and I sort of was
like I think we should reallylook into that some more.
It's not going to be theclassic way visual up here in
kids, but there's a little bitmore going on here too that I'm
comfortable for Doesn't seemlike it's just, you know, let's
(21:16):
get some.
Just look at some more.
And so having a seniorologist.
But if all she went on was justthe description and may have
said, yeah, kids do thatsometimes, you know, because of
that sometimes, right, but meseeing it, I was able to tell,
okay, this doesn't look likeit's quite normal, let's make
sure that it's not.
There's not one and maybe thereisn't anything there.
(21:37):
But at least my antenna went upa little bit more, just seeing
it.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (21:42):
Yes, and again, it's early enough where if
there's something there it'sexactly taking care of.
Yes, or we're all in thistogether.
It's a journey or holding hands.
We haven't arrived, Nobody'sarrived.
Dr. Emeka Obidi (21:56):
We are all here to help, so yes, for sure.
You've seen something, thatwhich is really important.
Also, I think you want ahealthcare professional and this
may even just be for yourselfas well, your own provider that
doesn't give up the air of Ihave.
I've been learned everything Ineed to learn and there's no
more to learn.
I embodied the fullness of allmedical knowledge, the red flag
(22:20):
right, but all still learning,all still learning.
I love med parents all the timetoo, like, oh interesting, I've
never used that before.
Oh really, you saw that site.
Oh really interesting, let mego look it up and see what.
That is right, because we'reall learning.
And so you want someone who'sopen to saying oh interesting,
you saw this as a possibleremedy for this condition, let
(22:45):
me take a close look at it.
Right, I may not go and do allthe research, but at least I'm
open to saying, oh, let meconsider it and see what I think
about this and give you myopinion.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (22:53):
Please share this with your friends that are
having babies or not even havehad the baby, so that they can
prepare in advance.
And even if you've had multiplekids and you need a new
pediatrician, these are stilltips that will help you.
So please tell our parentswhere we can find out more about
the newborn prep course which,by the way, makes such a great.
(23:17):
That would make a greatpresence for like a baby shower.
Because, even the gift of apediatrician.
In the mommy's ears, as you canhear all the things she needs
to get ready.
So tell them where they canfind out.
Dr. Emeka Obidi (23:30):
Absolutely, totally.
So.
It's one of my passions withnewborns.
I just love caring for newbornsA lot of my day whenever I
can't put them right, so cute.
And I love it when I'm takingcare of them and the baby's
crying and mom is doing it forus.
I'm like if this crying isbothering me, I mean they're all
professional and don't worryabout it.
(23:52):
So I have an online ad for it,called newborn prep academy.
It's a great resource forexpectant moms or recently
delivered moms who are justwondering what to do with this
little cute bundle of joy thatsometimes makes them pull their
hair apart because they don'tunderstand what is, what is
looking like or why what is cryis about.
(24:12):
So what's to do with thecircumcision or what to do with
the umbilical cord and all thedifferent questions that moms
and parents have.
So it's called newborn prepacademy and they can go to
newbornprepacademycom.
All of the finance and YouTubealso will have all the links,
hopefully in the show notes, butlots of great information there
.
And you know, for those who arepreparing to have a baby or just
(24:36):
delivered one, there's a courseon there that's available also
at the newborn preparationcourse that really goes through
all the things that helps youstart caring for your newborn
more confidently.
You know, you know what toexpect.
You know how to troubleshootsome simple things, what things
are, red flags that you shouldlook out for, what things are
probably just normal on half ofthe course.
(24:58):
And so they can find all ofthat there.
And then, for those who arelooking for pediatrician, we are
out in Hague, utah, Maryland,western Maryland, safety, in the
Washington County area inMaryland the practices partners
in pediatrics and family health.
We care for kids and adults buthave a large pediatric
population.
So we're pediatricians andproviders who will be more than
(25:21):
willing to sit down with you andwalk alongside with you this
journey of caring for your kids.
So you can check us out andwe'll have all the links in the
show notes as well.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (25:33):
It's wonderful.
So, parents, if you're in thatarea, if you're in Hague Town,
you need to go see Dr Obedi.
You take excellent care of yourkid.
Thank you so much, dr Obedi,for coming out today.
Such a pleasure to talk withyou.
Dr. Emeka Obidi (25:47):
Thank you for having me on.
It was wonderful as well.
Thank you.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (25:51):
And parents.
Have a wonderful day until thenext episode, and I hope you
share this and you leave us areview as well.
We appreciate it.
Have a wonderful day.
Hello everyone, welcome to another episode of
Brain Power.
with Dr Eko, I have a wonderfulguest with us today, Dr Emeka
Obidi.
He's an amazing pediatrician, afather, amazing entrepreneur, a
husband.
Did I say that?
I did actually that one out.
So welcome to the podcast, drObidi, and I'm going to let you
(00:23):
introduce yourself to theaudience.
Dr. Emeka Obidi (00:26):
Sure.
Thank you for having me on.
This is going to be a wonderfultime together.
My name is Dr Obidi Dr EmekaObidi.
I'm a pediatrician.
I've been practicing for maybe20 years now and it's crazy how
time flies, but I'm apediatrician.
I run a family practice inWestern Maryland, hagerstown,
(00:46):
maryland.
Partners in pediatrics andfamily health.
We also see online educationfor new moms, or expected moms,
called Newborn Prep Academy,where we really educate moms on
what to expect from theirnewborns and help them Just take
care of the newborns with a lotof confidence, and that's fun
to do as well.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (01:04):
And thank you for having me on hey, I'm so
glad you're here.
So we're going to talk todayabout the things that parents
need to look out for whenpicking a pediatrician, and even
tips on how to make thatrelationship really rich, so
that you are getting the mostout of the relationship you have
with your child's doctor.
(01:26):
So tell us, Dr Obidi, what aresome things that parents first
of all should be looking forwhen they're trying to pick a
pediatrician for their child.
Dr. Emeka Obidi (01:36):
I was just thinking, especially for your
audience, that this is soimportant because, especially if
you have a kid who may have adevelopmental concern that
you're concerned about, or kidwith autism diagnosis or
anything and this certainlyapplies for all kids, even the
healthy kids your pediatricianis like this touch point for
(01:57):
their health, right, and I'mgoing to use the word
pediatrician to involve otherclinicians that may take care of
the kids also, so you mighthave an MP, a nurse practitioner
or a physician assistant caringfor your kid, but it's really
important that you are payingattention to that relationship
and who you choose to be apediatrician.
Yes, you're going to look atthings like how far away is the
(02:21):
office and what hours are theyopen and do they take my
insurance If you're usinginsurance for medical care, and
all of those.
But at the end of the day, Ithink one of the most important
factors is really beingcomfortable with this person.
Of course, I did qualify tocare for my kid and usually the
(02:43):
vast majority of cliniciansproviders are going to be
qualified to care for your kid.
But at the end of the day, therehas to be that connection there
.
You have to have someone thatyou're comfortable speaking with
that you're comfortablebringing up concerns with, that,
you feel confident when they'vegiven you some advice, that I
(03:04):
feel confident that they'vegiven me good advice that I can
carry out or adhere to, and thatis also someone that you can
challenge as well, like if Idon't understand this, tell me
why.
So it's really important thatthere's that connection and a
lot of pediatricians will allowyou come visit and come see them
for a first visit just to getto meet them, which, if that's
(03:29):
possible, I think you shouldjump at that opportunity If
you're a mom expecting a childor I've even had that happen in
my practice, where parents orparents have a kid with special
needs and they're not quite sure.
They've probably had some badexperiences in the past and so
they wanted to come see me firstand just meet me and I've been
(03:49):
completely okay with that and Ithink it's important that
there's that connection.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (03:55):
You're absolutely right and like the
part where you said makesomebody that you can ask
questions of, because it's soimportant that parents feel
comfortable asking.
And parents, I want you toremember that you know your
child the best.
The nutrition eat your childfor a few minutes, right, yes?
(04:16):
Or what?
30 minutes at best, but youknow your child the best and
it's so important for you to askthe questions because we don't
always know all the.
I mean, sometimes we ask basicquestions, but if you have any
questions, it's so important toask and feel comfortable asking
those questions and not feellike you're being put down if
(04:36):
you ask questions.
Dr. Emeka Obidi (04:37):
So yeah, yeah, no very much, because I think a
lot of times parents areintimidated by credentials and
our training and traditionally,you know, the position is so
pedestal that can never make anywrong.
You know, do anything wrong.
And traditionally you've alsohad, oftentimes, unfortunately,
(04:59):
doctors who are like you know,why are you challenging what I
said?
You know I'm the one who's theexpert.
I went, you know, spent allthese years in school studying
this material.
You know, how did you tell methat you don't think that's
what's correct, what's going onright?
Or even be offended when youbring, when you say, well, on
Google, you know, dr Google saidXYZ.
(05:21):
Like, how can you bring up DrGoogle when I am the expert here
?
Right, but that doesn't help,right?
Because then what happens isyou have parents who are afraid
to mention something thatthey're concerned about because
they don't want to appear stupidor put down for bringing up
this concern, right?
(05:41):
So it's really important thatyou choose someone you're
comfortable with bringing upconcerns.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (05:48):
Yes, so critical .
And let's talk about theparents who may not completely
say all that's going on with thechild because they have a fear
of a diagnosis.
Dr. Emeka Obidi (05:59):
That's the difficult one, right?
I think that's why I said youalso have to try and pick
someone or develop thatrelationship with your
pediatrician where you arecomfortable or have some degree
of confidence in what they're,in information that passes on to
you.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (06:20):
Right.
Dr. Emeka Obidi (06:21):
I know that there can be a human tendency.
I think this sometimes has todo with personality.
There are some people who justwant to know it, tell me what.
Like if I said I have good newsand bad news.
You know, what do you want forus?
Like, some of the bad news justget out of the way, right?
There are some people who likedonate the bad news for as long
as possible.
Maybe don't even tell me so.
(06:44):
Sometimes it may have to do withpersonality as well, but when
it comes to your child, though,on a serious note, if there is a
concern, wishing it away is notgoing to change that right.
And oftentimes in pediatricsand what we do, kids are still
developing, and so there aretimes where the earlier you can
(07:06):
identify something, the betterthe outcome is down the road
when you're able to bring theright treatment plan to bear,
whether that's medication ortherapy or whatever right.
So take something as simple asa speech delay right, if there
is a speech delay, try to wishthat we are saying no, they're
just lay talkers.
(07:26):
No, you know, the older brotherdoes, you know, spoke when he
was like three years old andhe's fine right now.
Like you know, no, like ifthere's a concern, there's
nothing wrong in saying thischild has a speech delay,
because then we can start somespeech therapy early and the
earlier that starts, the betterthe outcome down the road.
Right, I mean I don't feeldetritus.
(07:46):
I have three kids.
My youngest was 10 years oldnow.
Son.
There was some speech delay,right, and I was able to.
We had a great program herebirth to five infant toddlers
program.
I got him hooked to earlier on.
I remember how old he was down,maybe three years old, and it
did wonders.
He really blossomed and in notime he graduated from the
(08:10):
program and you know now we canget sub talking.
But yes, so things like that,the earlier.
I mean autism diagnosis is thebig one, right?
Parents are just afraid to hearthat diagnosis, understandably,
you know.
I always say to my parents whoare parents of special needs
kids whatever that diagnosis,hats off to you, because that is
(08:33):
, you know, those are heavyissues to walk in and big issues
to walk in and those parentsjust have big hearts and just
such large capacity to care fortheir kids.
It's amazing the love they havefor their kids.
But diagnosis like that, thefarther out you get that
diagnosis made, the moredifficult it is to provide that
(08:54):
timely intervention to have asgood an outcome as you can.
So, yes, it's a difficultdiagnosis to hear, yes, there's
probably going to be somedifficult road to walk through,
but we're starting this earlyenough where there's also a
possible better outcome at theend of the day also, or, I guess
I'm getting all the support Ineed right.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (09:16):
Yes, that's such a critical.
I'm so glad you brought that up, because we as pediatricians
always talk about zero to fivelike that.
That's period is such acritical period for great growth
.
So if there's any issues goingon there's best to identify,
then you can do the turnaroundand that's when we're going to
move.
So now it goes in the different, in the positive direction,
(09:38):
versus we still.
The child is eight and nowwe're trying to go back and
trend.
That doesn't mean it can'thappen, it's absolutely very
road to climb.
Then if the child is between theages of under five, then it's
easier to make changes.
Dr. Emeka Obidi (09:53):
Absolutely.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (09:54):
So I'm glad you brought that up and for parents
to know that.
Back to your point about thesupport, because if they have to
hear difficult diagnosis thenthey want someone who can walk
beside them on the journey thatthey go on, to help them.
Dr. Emeka Obidi (10:10):
And, like I said earlier on, parents, they
are the child's best advocate.
They really, like you said, weget to see them for just a few
minutes at a time, but they arethere with that child all day
long, day in, day out.
So, like you know, when younotice, when you're comfortable
about something you're noticingin your child, you want to
(10:30):
certainly bring it up.
I think that dress early, butalso it's the other way around.
Also, the pediatrician ismentioning something that
they're concerned about, becausesometimes that's pediatricians
A child comes into the exam roomor into our space and we're and
we can just tell this, maybesomething off right With
interaction, with the waythey're carrying themselves,
with what they're seeing or howthey're looking or what they're
(10:52):
doing right, and so sometimesour own wanting bells go off
like or there may be somethinghere, and so we're digging into
it some more, right?
So it's a two-way street and ifyour pediatrician is telling
you something maybe off withyour child, hopefully they're
saying bringing it up in asensitive way.
But you should also feelcomfortable asking questions or
(11:18):
challenging that information ordiagnosis in a way where, okay,
there's back and forth and like,okay, why do you say that you
know what should you know mythought I'd rather be doing
right now that you're not doing.
Okay, could we just be?
Maybe this is just delayed andthere's nothing wrong, you know.
And so there's back and forth.
You should feel comfortablechallenging the information that
(11:40):
, at the end of the day, when weare right at a plan, you're
comfortable with that plan.
I oftentimes oftentimes when I'minteracting with a parent, at
the end of the day and I've toldthem all these things we're
going to do, I'm like how doesthat sound to you?
Because I really want to see.
Okay, do you feel like this isa workable plan?
Because if you're, and if Isense a hesitation, I'm like,
(12:03):
okay, let's talk about it.
What part of this plan isuncomfortable or you feel is not
correct?
Or let's really dive into it.
So maybe I'm giving you morereasoning why I think this is a
great way to go, or listen towhat you're seeing, and maybe I
haven't considered somethingelse, right?
So I guess it's back and forthand that's why it's so critical
(12:24):
to have the right pediatricianfor your child, because it
allows us to care for your kidand allows you to get care for
your kid that is conducive tomaking sure you have the best
health outcome 2 million percentcorrect.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (12:43):
It's so critical because you want peace of mind.
If you, as a parent, you're not, you're not, your mind is not
at peace, your child will sensethat you're not at peace and
then this whole this goes on andon and on.
Dr. Emeka Obidi (12:54):
It takes your entire life and your days.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (12:57):
So ask the question.
If something seems off to you,trust your gut feeling.
Dr. Emeka Obidi (13:02):
Yeah, and there's also nothing wrong with
getting a second opinion.
Yeah, oftentimes when, whenthere's a concern like the
parent brings up a concern and Ifeel like there's not much to a
constant there, first of allyou want a pediatrician who will
never dismiss any concern youhave, like, without first
(13:23):
investigating.
And investigating doesn'tnecessarily mean they were doing
some tests or they were doingsome therapy or whatever.
It may just mean that we'reasking questions, right, you
don't say, oh, I'm concernedabout you know the way Johnny
speaks.
I'm like, oh, he's fine, youknow, there's nothing wrong
there.
I just heard him speak rightnow.
He's okay.
Right, look at me, someone else.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (13:43):
Where's the?
Dr. Emeka Obidi (13:44):
exit door?
Right, they should have askedthe question why do you say so?
What's going on?
Tell me some more about this,right?
So that's part of thatinvestigation.
But if I do arrive which of thetimes we do as pediatricians,
right?
Oh no, I mean, we've seen somany kids.
Well, we have our formaleducation.
Oftentimes we have our own kids.
(14:04):
They will both have experiencetaking care of so many kids.
But sometimes we just know that,yes, they're concerned, but
there's really not a concernhere, right?
So even if your pediatrician issaying there isn't a concern
right now, they should also beproviding an environment where
they leave the door open for youto bring this up again.
So I often will say, okay, Ithink there's really nothing
(14:27):
going on.
Yeah, I think you're okay, Ithink you know this is normal,
or this is a normal part ofdevelopment, or I don't see what
you're seeing right now, butlet's see what happens over the
next few weeks or next fewmonths, or no less.
Let's see how things go.
But bring it up again.
If you're still concerned,bring it up again and let's look
at it again, right?
So I just feel, okay, I can,I'm okay with this, right, he's
(14:52):
not dismissing it or she's notdismissing it completely.
They've given me someinformation.
I'll consider it, I'll go backand look.
But they've also met the dooropen for me to bring this up
again, right, and so that wayyou can say hey, you know, I'm
still concerned about his speech.
I'm still concerned about theway she, you know, lives up her
(15:14):
toys.
I'm still concerned about theway she's interacting with you
know, people you know in herclass, whatever.
And then we can talk about itagain and say, okay, maybe we
should do something this time.
Maybe I should send you forfurther testing or or
evaluations to see there'ssomething else there.
And sometimes, you know, I willsend parents just get an
evaluation, even when I thinkthere's nothing there.
If it's still a persistentconcern.
(15:36):
Like I said, they're botheredright, and sometimes there's
value in just having someoneelse look at it and someone else
tell them okay, it's okay, oror it's just constipation.
Use the mirror laxity, wait upto be told it's using mirror
laxity, you'll be fine and makesure you start to do your mouth,
foot and veggies and water andyou'll be okay.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (15:56):
But until they see the.
Dr. Emeka Obidi (15:57):
GI specialist, you know to say the same thing.
They're going to be concernedand it's really something else
causing the constipation, andnot the fact that you know my
daughter only drinks like fiveounces of water a day.
I don't mean chicken nuggets.
I trust me with all being there, my acting son has a different
constipation I had to remind himto drink his water, and so we
(16:19):
are saying this as parents whoare in the same shoes, right?
Dr. Hokehe Eko (16:23):
Who are in the?
Dr. Emeka Obidi (16:23):
same shoes I can't do.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (16:26):
I've had constipation and I know that's
what I talked about a lot thesedays Because a lot of the kids
like take care of with autism at8-digit, they are all about to
pay to them so for sure, parentsare the best parents for your
child.
Don't ever forget that fact and, like what you said about them
being the first advocate, andthat's so important to just
(16:47):
empower parents to know thatthey absolutely have to ask the
question.
Dr. Emeka Obidi (16:52):
Don't feel intimidated, we're just human
beings, see we are not humanbeings, we are Exactly we don't
bite.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (17:00):
No, we definitely don't bite.
You have to fight a non-bitingperson, right.
I have a one of white coats inlike 20 years Right, exactly, I
don't wear one either becausethere is some psychological
thing there with kids and peoplein white coats, and it's just
to know that you are in chargeof your child and, yes, you may
(17:23):
not know all the medical lingo,but you know your child better
than any other human being.
So yeah that we may miss.
Please bring it up.
I think that you miss and if webring it up, you have an open
mind and just have a dialogue.
Dr. Emeka Obidi (17:39):
Yeah, yeah, I think you know one of the other
things also I'm just thinkingabout.
It is and this will go back to,maybe, especially if you're
looking for get your first timeis Trying to get a bit more
about there, trying to see ifyour philosophy is also line up.
Right, we just help care andand the way you kept your kid in
(18:00):
the first place, then you feelthere's a collaboration there
and not so long as just going todictate what you know needs to
be done.
I don't have the question me,this is what we need to do,
right.
And then there's some thingswhere, where you want to make
sure you have a pediatrician whosort of lines up with how you
think about life in medicine andthe place for Traditional
(18:23):
medicine and the place forcomplementary medicine and the
place for all of these things,right.
If your mom who loves to be ableto explore more holistic care
or more natural ways of caringfor things, and you have a
pediatrician who Things you know, all of those have no place
(18:47):
whatsoever in your child's care,you're both going to like fun
heads, right.
And you're gonna say, oh, can'twe try this in the like no, you
have to take this medication,right and but you may also have
beyond me may be, rules may bereversed also where your mom,
who doesn't believe in any ofthat Complementary care but a
pediatrician, is always pushingthat complementary care right.
(19:07):
So you should sort of make surethat your philosophies are
aligned somewhat, you know,generally speaking, I think I
find that that helps also, andnot to say that it must always
be, you must always be on thesame side.
That's where also thecommunication in the back and
forth and being comfortabletalking about things is
important.
But where that may be a big,you know a big when you see the
(19:29):
world, it's helpful to havesomeone walk alongside with you
as a healthcare practitioner whosees the world that way too.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (19:36):
Yes, absolutely right, Take notes.
Dr. Emeka Obidi (19:40):
I would tell you what I tell my, and
especially my parents of newbornand I say bring on your phone.
They're being I'm like that'smy best friend right there.
I want you to like open up anote section as questions come
up during the course of the daysand weeks of months.
Put them down there so when youcome in you don't forget.
If something looks funny, justtake a picture of it or shot
(20:01):
video recording because you knowthat's a great actor, actress,
it's bad.
Just show me the recording andtry to act out what they were
doing.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (20:09):
Oh, I love that.
Yes, you're pulling in yourbest friend.
Yes.
Dr. Emeka Obidi (20:14):
They tell me the book kind of look like a
sensation, a picture of the poop.
Oh, that's not all.
Oh well, maybe we should lookinto that somewhere.
That book looks funny.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (20:22):
Yeah, absolutely .
Oh, that's an important one.
Yes, we might as well use thetechnology that we have.
I know.
Dr. Emeka Obidi (20:28):
I used it.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (20:30):
And make voice notes, if you have to, to
yourself make voice notes.
Dr. Emeka Obidi (20:32):
Yes, that's a good one.
Yeah, I'm gonna add that to mylist.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (20:36):
Well, I have, I have patient, I mean like things
like seizures.
For sure, if you could catch avideo of it is so important then
, then describing what'spossibly could have happened.
I mean, sometimes it's notpossible, but if you can, yes,
the more pictures you can take,it helps us because we want to
see what's really going on, andwe want to see how.
Dr. Emeka Obidi (20:55):
Yes, yes, I saw a parent just the last few
weeks who's new born baby whohas had some eye movements and
she thankfully had capturedvideos of her and I sort of was
like I think we should reallylook into that some more.
It's not going to be theclassic way visual up here in
kids, but there's a little bitmore going on here too that I'm
comfortable for Doesn't seemlike it's just, you know, let's
(21:16):
get some.
Just look at some more.
And so having a seniorologist.
But if all she went on was justthe description and may have
said, yeah, kids do thatsometimes, you know, because of
that sometimes, right, but meseeing it, I was able to tell,
okay, this doesn't look likeit's quite normal, let's make
sure that it's not.
There's not one and maybe thereisn't anything there.
(21:37):
But at least my antenna went upa little bit more, just seeing
it.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (21:42):
Yes, and again, it's early enough where if
there's something there it'sexactly taking care of.
Yes, or we're all in thistogether.
It's a journey or holding hands.
We haven't arrived, Nobody'sarrived.
Dr. Emeka Obidi (21:56):
We are all here to help, so yes, for sure.
You've seen something, thatwhich is really important.
Also, I think you want ahealthcare professional and this
may even just be for yourselfas well, your own provider that
doesn't give up the air of Ihave.
I've been learned everything Ineed to learn and there's no
more to learn.
I embodied the fullness of allmedical knowledge, the red flag
(22:20):
right, but all still learning,all still learning.
I love med parents all the timetoo, like, oh interesting, I've
never used that before.
Oh really, you saw that site.
Oh really interesting, let mego look it up and see what.
That is right, because we'reall learning.
And so you want someone who'sopen to saying oh interesting,
you saw this as a possibleremedy for this condition, let
(22:45):
me take a close look at it.
Right, I may not go and do allthe research, but at least I'm
open to saying, oh, let meconsider it and see what I think
about this and give you myopinion.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (22:53):
Please share this with your friends that are
having babies or not even havehad the baby, so that they can
prepare in advance.
And even if you've had multiplekids and you need a new
pediatrician, these are stilltips that will help you.
So please tell our parentswhere we can find out more about
the newborn prep course which,by the way, makes such a great.
(23:17):
That would make a greatpresence for like a baby shower.
Because, even the gift of apediatrician.
In the mommy's ears, as you canhear all the things she needs
to get ready.
So tell them where they canfind out.
Dr. Emeka Obidi (23:30):
Absolutely, totally.
So.
It's one of my passions withnewborns.
I just love caring for newbornsA lot of my day whenever I
can't put them right, so cute.
And I love it when I'm takingcare of them and the baby's
crying and mom is doing it forus.
I'm like if this crying isbothering me, I mean they're all
professional and don't worryabout it.
(23:52):
So I have an online ad for it,called newborn prep academy.
It's a great resource forexpectant moms or recently
delivered moms who are justwondering what to do with this
little cute bundle of joy thatsometimes makes them pull their
hair apart because they don'tunderstand what is, what is
looking like or why what is cryis about.
(24:12):
So what's to do with thecircumcision or what to do with
the umbilical cord and all thedifferent questions that moms
and parents have.
So it's called newborn prepacademy and they can go to
newbornprepacademycom.
All of the finance and YouTubealso will have all the links,
hopefully in the show notes, butlots of great information there
.
And you know, for those who arepreparing to have a baby or just
(24:36):
delivered one, there's a courseon there that's available also
at the newborn preparationcourse that really goes through
all the things that helps youstart caring for your newborn
more confidently.
You know, you know what toexpect.
You know how to troubleshootsome simple things, what things
are, red flags that you shouldlook out for, what things are
probably just normal on half ofthe course.
(24:58):
And so they can find all ofthat there.
And then, for those who arelooking for pediatrician, we are
out in Hague, utah, Maryland,western Maryland, safety, in the
Washington County area inMaryland the practices partners
in pediatrics and family health.
We care for kids and adults buthave a large pediatric
population.
So we're pediatricians andproviders who will be more than
(25:21):
willing to sit down with you andwalk alongside with you this
journey of caring for your kids.
So you can check us out andwe'll have all the links in the
show notes as well.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (25:33):
It's wonderful.
So, parents, if you're in thatarea, if you're in Hague Town,
you need to go see Dr Obedi.
You take excellent care of yourkid.
Thank you so much, dr Obedi,for coming out today.
Such a pleasure to talk withyou.
Dr. Emeka Obidi (25:47):
Thank you for having me on.
It was wonderful as well.
Thank you.
Dr. Hokehe Eko (25:51):
And parents.
Have a wonderful day until thenext episode, and I hope you
share this and you leave us areview as well.
We appreciate it.
Have a wonderful day.
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