Dr. Denmark Said It!: Advice for Mothers from America's Most Experienced Pediatrician

by Madia L. Bowman

tom50

Genres: Parenting

206 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2002

Reviews

[Audra · Rating 2 out of 5]

I decided to sit down and re-read this book cover to cover, now that I have two kids and a little more experience with what-in-the-world I am up against. And here's what I think: it's an OK book. It isn't written by Dr. Denmark, but by one of her clients, who does not have medical background. As a result, I found several of the medically-oriented sections confusing, or overly concise without justifying some of the conclusions that were drawn (for instance, the assertion that giving kids cough syrup will give them pneumonia. That isn't EXACTLY the way it works, but once a nurse friend explained to me what the author actually MEANT, it made much more sense.). And though I do have a few concerns about the level of self-diagnosis, I do think that the author was duly responsible in saying, "This ______ is a big deal. YOU SHOULD SEE A DOCTOR FOR THIS."

Perhaps my greatest criticism of the book is that the author doesn't let the reader know what to expect if she doesn't do things according to the prescribed method. The newborn schedule was a great help with my first son, and he slept through the night at three weeks old. It was wonderful, until he hit five months and started losing weight at a desperately scary rate. We switched him 100% to formula feeding within a month in an effort to keep him from losing more weight and getting sick. It wasn't until over a year later that I learned that the weight loss began because my milk dried up without my starting the baby on solid foods, and my milk dried up because I fed the baby every four hours instead of every 2 1/2 - 3 hours. Nowhere in the book does it tell you to expect a low-weight baby, and that to address the low-weight baby, you MUST start the prescribed schedule of baby food, on time, because your body will wean that baby at seven months whether he is ready for food or not. I'm not arguing against the feeding schedule, necessarily - I really loved the timing, the interval, the sleep, the happy baby - but it would have made our experience much less scary if I had been prepared for the low-weight issue.

By contrast, and this is my favorite thing about this book, I LOVE the emphasis on vaccinations. Dr. Denmark's work on vaccinations in the Atlanta area was pioneering and ever-so-valuable to the welfare of children and adults in America, and I deeply appreciate that the doctor stresses the importance of vaccinating one's children. Her schedule is different from what my pediatrician recommends, but the point is the same: Vaccinations are important. Do them.

Finally, I thought Mrs. Bowman's parenting advice and words of wisdom on prioritization and caring for children were wonderful, and greatly encouraging to me as I am only two years into this walk. Her quotes from Dr. Denmark and Jacob Abbott were words that I GREATLY appreciated, and I think readers will benefit greatly from Mrs. Bowman's own experience with her many children.

In the end, I think it is worth the read; I learned many valuable lessons from this book. But like so many parenting books, this one also requires the reader to exercise some discernment.

[Diandra Burrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a short summary of the work of the world's oldest practicing pediatrician (73 years of practice) - written by one of her patients. "Wisdom is (definitely) with the aged, and understanding in the length of days." I've never been more equipped in mothering my own children since reading this book. In a world where there is so much information about parenting and taking care of babies, I'm glad to have found this book and enjoy the results of applying Dr. Denmark's advice in caring for my children.

[Christy Hertz · Rating 4 out of 5]

she's all that!

[Lily · Rating 3 out of 5]

The concept of sleeping by oneself is good. My child does not like the diet though.