At four months, my second child appeared to be not gaining enough weight. I was breastfeeding her…read moreexclusively so my kids' pediatrician advised me to see a lactation consultant, Dr. Elynn Go at the Asian Hospital. I called up her office and asked Paz, her secretary if Doc Elynn was covered by my health insurance, and she wasn't. I asked how much her consultation fee was, Paz said it's 1,700. That was pretty steep and I almost backed out of my appointment, but I've always wanted to talk to a lactation consultant so I went ahead with it. I gotta say, my visit to Doc Elynn was worth every penny, probably more. We talked for about an hour to address all of my breastfeeding concerns. It turns out that my daughter's weight was okay, she told me I had no reason to worry. She was very thorough in our checkup, she checked on my baby first, then me, then she watched me as I nursed my child so she can assess the problem. There was really none, but she just gave me a lot of pointers so that I can make the most out of my breastfeeding journey. Check-up and a pep talk, super worth it talaga! Moms out there who are having problems with breastfeeding your child, I highly recommend Dr. Elynn Go.

While preparing for the birth of my second baby, my OB asked me if I knew a pediatrician in St…read more Luke's. I didn't so I asked her to recommend a breastfeeding advocate pediatrician for my baby. She gave me Dr. Cristina Bernardo, the head of St. Luke's Lactation Unit. Dr. Bernardo can be a dead-ringer for one of those Korean superstars. She's so pretty, I can't help but mention it in this post. But obviously, her looks is just a bonus because she's a brilliant pediatrician and a breastfeeding advocate. She's the head of the Breastfeeding Committee of the Philippine Pediatrics Society. Her clinic in St. Luke's Global is a haven for breastfeeding moms. She has her own breastfeeding room complete with comfy couches, nursing pillows, foot stools and books about breastfeeding. That's where she assisted me in my breastfeeding concerns with my newborn.

We had our previous pediatrician probably by default; I came home to the Philippines with my first…read morechild and we just looked for a pediatrician near our home. She was the first one available. She's okay. She's nice and we're chums and all, but the only problem is she wasn't a breastfeeding advocate. So whenever my kid would go on a checkup and the scales would show that she's not gaining enough weight, she would always point me towards supplements and formula milk. I didn't give in though until my daughter was already one-year old but I didn't want that cycle to happen again with my second child. My husband also wasn't impressed with that pedia so I decided it's about time that I look for a new one. I heard about Doc Bambi on Facebook. One mom was raving about her kids' new pedia (like what I'm doing now), I liked what I read so I decided to bring my kids to her one day. And I'm glad that I did. She was so gracious to my little girl. She knew how to get on my daughter's good side so we didn't have a hard time asking her to cooperate on her checkup. She is also quite pleasant and chatty. I didn't feel like I was talking to a doctor, I felt like I was talking to a friend who's a doctor. I like her proactive approach to my children; rather than prescribing supplements, she encourages me to train my little girl to eat properly and take the high road in breastfeeding my younger one. She's a breastfeeding advocate too.

Growing up with a congenital heart condition can be quite challenging. For instance, I've passed…read morethe corporate exams and interviews in many A-list companies only to fail in their physical tests. All the three big companies that I eventually worked for asked for a medical certificate from my old cardiologist and they all imposed certain disclaimers on my employee insurance benefits. Now that I'm older and running my own business, I have no need for medical certificates, besides my old cardiologist had since passed away. However, as I approach my middle age years, I need constant medical monitoring, especially in the matters of my cardiovascular health. In my search for a new cardiologist, I was led to Dr. Andrea Orel Valle. She's an Interventional Pediatric Cardiologist. Essentially, she's a heart doctor for babies and kids. So why is she attending to an old patient like me? Well, that's because I have a congenital heart defect, meaning I have it since birth. A product of the University of the Philippines Intarmed Program, Doc Wawi, as she is fondly called by patients and friends, is a smart young cardiologist. That's why her patients -- including me -- find her cool and very relaxed. She has none of that typically boring clinical semantics when talking to people. But don't let her young looks fool you, she has the real-world experience and international qualifications to boot. Doc Wawi's main clinic is at Room 205 of the Faculty Medical Arts Building (FMAB) in UP-PGH. She's there from Tuesdays to Thursdays at 10:00am until 12:00 noon. Then, also on Saturdays from 2:00pm to 4:00pm.

Dr. Saulog is my baby's pediatrician. She isn't the first pedia who saw him in the hospital when I…read moredelivered, though. Actually, we had another pedia before discovering her. There wasn't anything wrong with him, but I wanted a doctor strongly recommended by someone we know. So I started asking all my friends who was the pediatrician of their kids. I've found out that Dr. Saulog is the pedia of 9 out of 10 expat friends. There must be a reason, so I needed to check! What I like the most about her is that she is very patient and doesn't make you feel like she's in a hurry. That's something really important to me. I don't want a doctor to check my baby with an eye on him and the other one on the clock. To the contrary, she really cares about your concerns and listens carefully all your questions. Another thing I appreciate is that Dr. Saulog REALLY checks my baby front and back. She does all the measurements, check the ears, eyes and also auscultates the chest. It may sound obvious, but there are lots of pediatricians who barely look at the children. Money is what matters. And time is money. That's definitely not Dr. Saulog's vibe. My son gets really calm and comfortable with her. I also love the fact she's not that kind of pediatricians who love prescribing medicines. She only does it if necessary. HIGHLIGHT: Besides being very warm and extremely skilled, Dr. Saulog is text friendly! That means she always reply to SMS. If you are worried because your baby has a cold or something and need an advice, just text her and she'll answer you. TIP: Set an appointment in advance, because her clinic is always full - both filipinos and expats! She has a clinic also in Makati Med, but I usually go to St. Luke's.

From the moment our baby girl Garnet was born, Dr. Clemente has been by our side, guiding us…read morethrough the journey of parenthood with his expertise. As first-time parents, we had countless questions but Dr. Clemente's calm and reassuring demeanor always put us at ease. What truly sets him apart is his dedication. He introduced himself and immediately shared his contact details, letting us know that he was just a message away. Its a comfort for new parents like us. I'll never forget the time he visited my hospital room for his daily rounds but found my husband and me fast asleep. Rather than waking us, he quietly left and returned later, showing such thoughtfulness and care. We couldn't have asked for a better pediatrician for our little princess. His staff is equally amazing. always reminding us of our baby's vaccine schedule a few days in advance. Thanks to their care and support, our baby is now 13 months old, growing healthy and happy.

Dr. Clemente was my baby's first pediatrician, the one who saw him in the hospital after the…read moredelivery. My ob-gyne had recommended him because he speaks fluent Spanish - which is close to Portuguese sometimes - and also because he's very "text friendly". That means you can text him with some concern and he immediately replies giving you some advice or even prescribing something (of course, only if it's something very basic, like simethicone for infant colic). Considering our modern way of life, I believe having a doctor who replies your phone calls and text messages is something really important. I ended up seeing another pedia only because I've found out that all my Brazilian friends here take their kids to the same doctor (Dr. Vienne Saulog). However, I highly recommend Dr. Clemente. He was very reliable and clarified all my doubts and concerns about my newborn.