January 10, 2012

Adoptive Children and Health Risks

We came upon this really interesting in American Medical News advising physicians about how to treat adoptive children, because they are at a higher risk for behavioral, medical and learning disorders due to their more vague medical histories. Of course, birth parents are expected to provide their medical histories during the adoption process, including sharing histories of certain illnesses in their family, as well as their own medical history, but there are necessary vagaries involved — for both the adoptive parents and the physicians. The article notes that often times, medical histories come in incomplete. How do you know which diseases or disorders run in the family? To what medications your child may have an immunity? You can’t. But, as long as you maintain attentiveness, and pay concerted attention to your child’s growth, mood, and health patterns, then you can keep yourself one step ahead of the game.

“Many times the information is simply not available or it comes in a fragmented manner,” she said. “It is important for all the parties involved — parents, health care workers, lawyers, etc. — to work together to provide the most comprehensive history as possible,” says Dr. Jones, the man who researched this report.

Bottom line, this is definitely an article to keep and share with your physician. Work with your agency to gather the most complete medical history of your birth parents possible, and remember that your children’s health should always come first.