Fearless Parent Radio – How to Raise A Healthy Child In Spite of Your Doctor – 04.27.16

#99 — How to Raise A Healthy Child In Spite of Your Doctor

April 27, 2016

Guest // Sally Mendelsohn, CNM : Host //  Maya Shetreat-Klein, MD

Do you have a pediatrician you love? Do you even know what that could

look like? In the current polarized medical climate, finding a

like-minded — or even open minded — pediatrician is not always easy.

But… there was one pediatrician who was willing to swim against the

tide — loudly and proudly — even back in the 1970s. In this episode,

homebirth midwife Sally Mendelsohn and Dr. Maya discuss Dr. Robert

Mendelsohn’s “renegade” ideas, including his books How To Raise a Healthy Child In Spite of Your Doctor and Confessions of a Medical Heretic.

How did Dr. Mendelsohn start on his visionary path and how was it received by the medical establishment?

What were his thoughts about birth, ultrasound, breastfeeding, and vaccination?

What, if any, practices and attitudes have changed since he wrote his books?

Robert Mendelsohn, MD (1926-1988) was one of the first outspoken,

renegade pediatricians. A graduate of University of Chicago for both his

undergraduate studies as well as medical school, he went on to write

numerous books including How to Raise a Healthy Child in Spite of Your Doctor, Confessions of a Medical Heretic, Male Practice: How Doctors Manipulate Women,

and more. He was selected by President Johnson to lead Project Head

Start’s Medical Consultation Service. He publicly questioned the

mainstream attitudes about medication, parenting, birthing, ultrasound,

immunizations, hospitalization and surgery. He appeared on over 500

television and radio talk shows.

Sally Mendelsohn, CNM

is the daughter of Dr. Robert Mendelsohn and a leader for women in her

own right. After getting her undergraduate degree at Brandeis College,

she graduated from Georgetown and Cornell Universities to eventually

became a Certified Nurse Midwife in 1982. During her 25 year career, she

delivered babies both in home and hospital settings. Most recently, she

taught midwifery in the graduate program at New York University. Sally

and her family have recently launched a new website to more broadly

share the ideas of her father. Learn more at www.thepeoplesdoctor.net.