Tallahassee Pediatrics: Simmons Kathryn A MD at 1205 Marion Avenue in Tallahassee, Florida

Customer Reviews about Tallahassee Pediatrics: Simmons Kathryn A MD

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  BEWARE: New parents, do NOT allow your newborn to be seen by Dr. Simmons for their first visit (or for any visit). We brought our daughter in for her first doctor visit when she was about 64 hours old (a bit early because it was a Friday and the alternative was bringing her in later than the normal schedule for baby's first visit). My wife's milk had just started to come in that morning, and our daughter had actually just had her first very successful feeding while we were in the room waiting for the doctor. Upon entering the room, Dr. Simmons told us that we should end her nursing session because, "after 10 minutes of nursing, there's nothing left for her to drink." This statement is contrary to every piece of published breastfeeding information we could find as well as the advice of the lactation consultants at TMH. Dr. Simmons proceeded to tell us that our daughter had lost 10% of her birth weight (completely normal at that point for exclusively breastfed babies) and gave us formula samples with instructions to feed her two ounces every two to three hours for the entire weekend. These instructions would have resulted and a virtual shutdown of human milk production and ended all chance of success at breastfeeding our daughter. When we explained to her that my wife had only just begun to produce milk and that it was very important to us that she be exclusively breastfed, Dr. Simmons told us that if we didn't immediately start feeding her formula we would be taking our daughter to the ER by Monday. She also added that her own children drank formula, and our children would happily do the same and be just fine. Dr. Simmons then left the room before even finishing a complete checkup of our daughter or answering the list of other questions we had brought with us. Luckily for us, we immediately called and made an appointment with the lactation consultants at TMH (Miss Liz is a godsend), and our daughter has been breastfeeding well ever since. She is now in the 85th percentile for weight and thriving. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life. Although this is medically the best food that can be given to a newborn, Dr. Simmons made every effort to undermine our ability to successfully breastfeed our child. Other people we know have had identical experiences with Dr. Simmons, and I can't imagine how many new mothers have switched to formula after receiving her terrible advice.
  March 12, 2017

  by Andrew Sackman

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