New UCLA program offers parents medical guidance for international adoptions

With thousands of internationally adopted children arriving in the United States each year, there is a growing demand for a specialized health-care support system that helps adoptive parents and children navigate through the international adoption process.   Now, Dr. Yvonne Bryson and Dr. Nava Yeganeh, pediatric infectious disease specialists at Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA, have created a new program to meet this need.   The goal of the hospital's new International Adoption and Travel Clinic is to provide parents with a medical-based support system as they embark on their adoption journey.   "Children adopted internationally, many from developing countries, may have spent months to years in orphanages and other state-run institutions; their medical histories may be incomplete, and many need specific infectious disease–related attention," said Bryson, professor and chief of pediatric infectious diseases at Mattel. We also help families prepare for international travel, with guidance on recommended vaccines and other medical preparations."   The Wilsons of Bakersfield, Calif., have experienced firsthand some of the challenges of trying to piece together medical expertise on their own. The family includes three biological children, two brothers adopted from Ethiopia in 2011 and two boys adopted from China last year. The Wilsons were referred to the new UCLA clinic when their sons from China needed an infectious disease specialist because of possible tuberculosis ex...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news