[FamilyofFour]

I haven't seen this mentioned, so if it has already been discussed I apologize...

After you received your referral, did you have the information (pictures/video/medical information, etc) examined by a Dr to see if there were any indications of a medical condition that you should be concerned about? If so, where did you find the Dr and how did you go about getting the evaluation quickly?

Did you have a time limit on how long you had to decide on whether to accept a referral, especially if a medical condition was identified?

[2forus]

We haven't gotten this far yet, but I know my agency has a list of Dr.s that specialize in international adoption issues. Check with your agency to see if they recommend anyone.

[bbeard72]

I just received my referral last week. I had met with a local Dr about 3 weeks prior. She is an internatianal adoption specialist. As soon as we became "paper ready" I set up the apt, knowing there was just a couple of weeks wait for a referral.
The local Dr. gave me her email address etc. Once I got the referral info (which was all via email), I emailed it to the Dr. She looked over all the pics, what the Guat. Dr had to say and all the labs and gave her option/recommendation. We accepted the referral within 2 days of receiving it. I would just advise you find a Dr and meet with them before you are referral ready and you should have no problem.
It was all very easy.

Bren

[DD Amasa]

All I got with my referral was that he was two days old, weight, length and head circumference and two photos and a medical report that stated he was healthy and all was normal. I didn't send them to a doctor because there was nothing there to evaluate really. I looked at charts myself to see if everything was proportional. If my son had very low birth weight or something seemed "off", I would have consulted a doctor.

Plus the embassy approved doctor did his exam and stated everything was normal and he was healthy. As the internation adoption pediatrician I consulted a couple of months later pointed out, if that Guatemalan doctor is competent and honest, he's actually examing the child, which is better than having an American doctor just review the chart. If the Guatemalan doctor is incompetent or dishonest, his reports aren't worth the paper they are printed on and an American doctor is evaluating based on inaccurate info anyway.

I did send all his medicals to the international adoption pediatrician about three months later. They told me they really needed a few months worth of medicals to evaluate if the child is developing properly.

[adoptnky]

We have an IA doctor. We sent the information we received to the doctor and she got back with us within 24 hours. I had some concerns about the picture we received, and she was able to calm my fears. Everytime we get an update, we send it to her and she is charting him. When we finally get to bring him home, we will take Alex to her to be checked out. It's been worth it to me to have her look at our stuff.

Kim

[aunt Ceecee]

First, I agree with DD Amasa, there really is not anything to go on. My baby's pic and information was e-mailed to me and then a phone call to see if I would except......I excepted right away, and asked questions later. Because if there is a problem they would have told me and if not I would have to deal with it down the road but I do have a friend who works for a Ped. Doctor office and the doc's said she is in the growth chart for her age. And to relax....wait till I get her before I start running to the office...and then wait a few weeks untill I get to know her better. You will know when you see your baby, if she or he is your child.....I did anyway. Best to you and yours..........CeeCee

[KJones5]

I think it all depends on the info you receive with your referral. All we received was 3 pictures (basically one picture taken from 3 different angles). Our referral was presented to us when our baby was 15 days old. We also received head circ, height & weight. This info was all in Spanish. We really didn't have enough info for anyone to review and form a medical opinion. However, we did have it reviewed by an IA specialist. The IA said "he proportional" and she went over basic stuff that the social worker had already told us. To do it again, with that limited of info there is no way I would have paid to have it reviewed.

[Mandy4President]

We also only got 3 pictures and 3 medicals, all of which her height, weight, and head cir. looked good. I didn't take the information to our peds (who takes care of several Guatemalan babies) because there just wasn't much to show.

[bbeard72]

You don't have to pay to have your local Dr look at the referral info. (or at least I've never known anyone getting charged). I met with her prior to receiving the referral also. They don't charge you if you don't physically have a baby.
We had about 30 pictures and about 6 pages of medical reports, all the guat. dr's notes etc. So there was a ton of information . I'm by no means a Dr. so I wanted to make sure it was sent to a international adoption specialist.
She actually made recommendations and I relayed them back to my agency . She pointed out several things that the Guat. Dr. didn't explain which def. eased my mind.

Bren

[DD Amasa]

The international adoption clinic I eventually sent the records to after I had four months worth of medicals charges $175.00 to review records and $300 to evaluate videos. Reviewing international medical records and knowing about the unique aspects of each country and their children is their specialty and they charge for it.

[aunt Ceecee]

Okay now I am a bit confused again..........

Where did you find a clinic and how did you get all this medical information? I have been told my baby girl is seen by the ped doc. once every month. I guess that is another question I need to ask my agency....Thanks for the info..............Be well............CeeCee

[bbeard72]

Well i'm sure if there is a place that just agrees to look at medical info...that they would charge for it.
But the international specialist that I went to see is in my town and works for a pediatrics group. So that is where my baby is going to be seen once he comes home. I just didn't send records to a clinic for an evaluation and that's it. If that was the case , then i'm sure there would be a charge otherwise how would that clinic make any money.
I know numerous people that are adopting internationally and they find a pediatric Dr. before their referral and then submit the info. and are not charged...but it is a Dr. that they plan on continuing care with.

[becky]

I always recommend that my families have their referral information looked at by a doctor. I have a couple of international specialists that I recommend to them. These doctors can look at very limited information and give you an opinion. We typically have 5 or 6 photos, labs, measurements, and a pediatrician report. That is enough for the doctor to give you some insight as to possible issues.

These doctors also continue to review each set of photos, videos, measurements and/or medical updates during the 4-6 months it takes to process the adoption. And they all do charge a fee.

The only people I know of who may not charge a fee might be your normal pediatrician who may look over everything for you if you already use him/her for your other children. But even in those cases you are often charged the fee for a normal office visit.

Good Luck!

[Larue]

We had our pictures and medical report reviewed by a well-known IA Pediatrician. He is fantastic! He spent over an hour on the phone with us for our initial consultation after we received our referral, and really educated us on IA adoption medical issues. We're first time parents -- and it really gave us peace of mind

We also send him her monthly medical reports/pictures and he also reviewed a video for us. We paid $300.00 -- which included all follow-up reviews. PM me if you'd like the info.

Best wishes!