October 28, 1998
UWMC Center for Adoption Medicine provides care for special needs of adopted children and their families
Adopting a child can bring special joys as well as special challenges. Unique medical, social and developmental issues arise in both domestic and international adoptions.
To help parents prepare and care for the special needs of adopted children, University of Washington Medical Center has established the Center for Adoption Medicine at the Pediatric Care Center.
“Every country is different in terms of the amount of medical information available about children and the kinds of health problems they may be at risk for,” explained Dr. Julia Bledsoe, director of the center. As a pediatrician and mother of an adopted child, Bledsoe knows firsthand the questions, issues and challenges of caring for the health of adopted children.
“There are many questions and decisions involved in adoption,” Bledsoe said. “It’s important for parents to be as prepared as possible, and for children to receive specialized, thorough medical testing and treatment when needed.”
The center provides a wide range of services, from pre-adoption counseling and review of medical records, photographs and videotapes, to examination of children after placement in a home and coordination of any needed medical services.
Travel medical advice is also provided for families adopting internationally.
In addition to pre- and post-adoption medical and counseling services, the center provides educational activities and resource materials for parents, consultation to adoption agencies and education for physicians and other health care providers regarding medical and social issues encountered in adoption.
The medical evaluation of children adopted internationally has become more important due to recent demographic shifts. Currently, a majority of children come from China, the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe — areas where medical care is less sophisticated and where most children come from an orphanage setting.
“This demographic shift has dramatic ramifications for medical illness, growth and developmental problems in international adoptees,” Bledsoe said. “It becomes very important to have these needs properly addressed.”
To reach the Center for Adoption Medicine, call the UWMC Pediatric Care Center at (206) 598-3000.
