The Handbook of International Adoption Medicine: A Guide for Physicians, Parents, and Providers

by Laurie C. Miller M.D.

Overview

Since 1989, American families have adopted more than 230,000 children from other countries. Many of these children have lived in crowded conditions, sometimes with poor standards of hygiene, inadequate nutrition, and limited numbers of caregivers. Some suffer from endemic infectious diseases. Upon arrival, practitioners often fail to recognize the unique concerns of this group. This text provides an overview of the specialized medical and developmental issues that affect internationally adopted children, offering guidelines to the physicians caring for these children and their families before, during, and after adoption. The reader will learn how to advise families prior to an international adoption, how to perform an effective initial screening assessment of the newly arrived child, and how to recognize and manage developmental and other more long-term problems as they emerge.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780190286989
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	12/16/2004
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	10 MB

Table of Contents

1. International Adoption Medicine
Part I Before the Adoption
2. The Effects of Institutionalization on Children
3. Special Regional Consideration
4. Pre-Adoption Counseling and Evaluating the Referral
Part II Prenatal Exposures
5. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
6. Prenatal Drug Exposure
7. Prenatal Exposure to Maternal Smoking
8. Effects of Stress in Early Life
Part III Travel and Transition
9. Travel and Transition to the Adoptive Family
Part IV Growth and Development
10. Malnutrition and Undernutrition
11. Micronutrient Deficiencies
12. Microcephaly and Early Brain Injury
13. Developmental Delay
Part V Infectious Diseases
14. Tuberculosis
15. Hepatitis B
16. Hepatitis C
17. Intestinal Parasites and Other Enteric Infections
18. Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
19. Syphilis
20. Heliocobacter Pylori
21. Immunization and Vaccine-Preventable Diseases
22. Unusual and other Infectious Diseases
Part VI Other Medical Conditions
23. Inherited Disorders of Erythrocytes
24. Lead and Other Evrionmental Toxins
25. Rickets
26. Uncertain Age
27. Precocious Puberty
28. Lactose Intolerance
Part VII Neurocognitive and Behavioral Issues
29. Attachment
30. Behavioral and Mental Disorders
31. Language
32. School Issues
33. Sensory Integration Disorder
34. Culture and Identity
35. After Adoption: Unspoken Problems
36. Resources

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Daniel R. Bronfin, M.D.(Ochsner Clinic Foundation)
Description: This is the first comprehensive book devoted to the burgeoning field of international adoption medicine. Roughly 200,000 children have been adopted from other countries by Americans since 1986; the unique medical and developmental problems of these patients require specialized knowledge by the providers and families who care for them.
Purpose: The book successfully guides the reader through the medical, legal, psychosocial, developmental, and emotional issues in 1) preparing for international adoption, 2) initial evaluation of a child upon arrival to the U.S., and 3) early recognition and management of possible long-term problems based on the child's country of origin.
Audience: Pediatricians will be the main beneficiary of this effort. It will also prove to be a useful book for social workers, therapists, nonmedical adoption professionals and parents.
Features: Dr. Miller focuses on pre-adoption issues, prenatal exposures, travel and transition, growth and development, infectious diseases and other medical problems, and neurocognitive/behavioral issues relevant to international adoptees. The emphasis on issues unique to various countries of origin and the in-depth discussion on the effects of institutionalization were most enlightening.
Assessment: This is an indispensable resource for physicians who provide care to these children and an important and fascinating read for all child advocates. Dr. Miller appropriately comments in the preface that credit is often inappropriately given to healthcare professionals for these children's successes, while in fact, the "most profound intervention of all" is the act of adoption itself.

Doody's Review Service