Congratulations to Dr Syed Fasihullah and his beautiful bride Nabiha. We wish you a lifetime of love, happiness and joy. 💙
Combining specialist medical training with family life is a challenge at the best of times. When Leading Steps Paediatric Registrar Dr Victoria Matheson returned to full time work six weeks after giving birth to her son she worried that breastfeeding was “doomed to fail”.
Vicky wrote about her experience for World Breastfeeding Week 2015.
I chose to breast feed whilst returning to work as I had a young baby and I felt it was important to provide the benefits of breast milk in this period, the short answer!!
The longer answer, as a working mum I felt a huge guilt leaving my baby (even if it was with daddy) and by breast-feeding it alleviated some of that guilt. It also continued to give me a connection to him whilst at work. I was returning to work for ten weeks before having a six-month break.
In retrospect one of the reasons I contemplated continuing to breastfeed and returning to work was because I was in a supportive work environment. My employers allowed me to disappear every three hours like clock work to pump and I had an incredibly breastfeeding friendly environment to pump in, without that I don't know I would have gotten through the first few weeks!!
The first challenge I faced was to keep my milk. I lost my milk early on with my first child, not sure why. It's no secret amongst my friends that I didn't enjoy breastfeeding the first time round. I had difficulties with technique, pain, emotional rollercoaster and embarrassment feeding in front of people and most of all feeling like a failure when I lost my milk and my girl failed to thrive. I was utterly horrified that I had inadvertently starved her. So this time round I was acutely aware of how pumping and not feeding might detrimentally affect my milk.
To begin with I felt it was doomed to fail and I was extremely anxious about losing my supply. So I gave myself a mental slap and approached this like I would an exam or a race and made it a challenge. I stopped feeling sorry for myself about how hard it would be and decided to own it.
My husband was very supportive of whatever I wanted to do but hated seeing me permanently anxious about my supply. He gently suggested I switch to formula, but like setting out to do a long run I told him to push me when it all seemed too hard that I wanted to win!!! This I’m sure wouldn’t work for everyone and sounds quite cheesy but it worked for me.
I went out this time and bought a wardrobe of new clothes that were breastfeeding friendly and made me feel pretty, wish I had done that last time!!! I used domperidone to help when my supply was low. I ensured I pumped every three hours whilst away from the baby, this I know is a luxury.
I tried not to let a failed pump be a disaster, stress and rushing don’t mix well with let downs! I accepted my supply would have good and bad days and topped up with formula when my stored supply ran out. I let myself be ok with that!
With a week left to go I'm really glad I did this, and would do it again if I had to! I love coming home in the evening and breast-feeding my boy. This time round I would go as far as to say I have enjoyed feeding! Managing to do this has left me a lot more confident. I even feed in public without a shawl sometimes!
This brings me to my final thoughts, breastfeeding like everything to do with your children and family is a personal journey. Advice can be helpful but at the end of the day it’s your life, your baby and your family. Working out what best works for you is most likely to lead to successful breastfeeding regardless of the challenges. I now intend to breastfeed for much longer than I had originally planned and I’m looking forward to post feed snuggles on the couch with my boy.
This month Leading Steps Paediatric Clinic celebrates 20 years since a young paediatrician named Glenn Harte arrived at the Gold Coast. Since that time Dr Harte has made a difference to the lives of over 40,000 children and families.
In 20 years Dr Harte has seen a lot of change, especially with technology. From “brick-like” mobiles to smart phones that can access world wide medical knowledge, and “rooms of patient notes that are now stored on a usb drive and are accessible in seconds.”
One area Dr Harte says hasn’t changed is the commitment of parents to do their best for their children.
“The thing that has always impressed me over the years is wisdom and motivation of well-meaning parents and their commitment to the health and care of their children,” said Dr Harte
Dr Harte is admired around Leading Steps and the hospital for his kindness, dedication, clinical knowledge and exceptional ability with a spreadsheet.
His patients and colleagues are looking forward to working with him for the next 20 years.
The team at Leading Steps Paediatric Clinic is thrilled to welcome paediatrician Dr Hannah Rodgers.
Dr Rodgers trained in Queensland at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Brisbane, Gold Coast Hospital and at Leading Steps Paediatric Clinic as one of our most outstanding Advanced Training Registrars.
Her areas of interest include:
All aspects of general paediatrics
Newborn care and feeding issues
Adolescent health
Infectious diseases
Accredited in Advanced Paediatric Life Support.
Dr Rodgers says she loves paediatrics because it means working with and caring for not only a child but also the whole family.
Outside of work, Dr Rodgers is kept busy with her young son, Oliver.
Dr Pincus says it is pleasing to welcome Dr Rodgers into the team at Leading Steps Paediatric Clinic because she demonstrates the combination of clinical excellence, empathy and commitment to each child and family that is part of the DNA of Leading Steps Paediatric Clinic.
It was a happy day last month when Dr Pincus graduated as a doctor from UQ School of Medicine.
It was confusing too, as the latest Dr Pincus (Sophia) is the fourth generation Dr Pincus in her family.
Dr Pincus the first and second were both GP's in Brisbane. Dr Pincus the third (David R Pincus) is a paediatrician here at Leading Steps. Dr Pincus the fourth (Sophia Pincus) is working in Brisbane and hoping to follow in her father’s footsteps into paediatrics.
Sophia Pincus said she feels very fortunate to be starting a career in medicine, especially with such great role models in her father and grandfather.
“My dad always says doing medicine is a privilege because you make a difference and spend your life helping people,” said Sophia.
Having spent her childhood practicing ward rounds on her dolls and stuffed toys Sophia was happy to be accepted into medicine after school.
The first weeks got off to a slightly rocky start when she realized she had never studied biology.
“My granddad asked if I needed any help with med school. When I asked him what an aorta was, he looked pretty worried about how I would go,” said Sophia.
He needn’t have been concerned, as Dr Pincus (version 4) has gone on to make her great grandfather, grandfather and father proud.
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From Left: (Young) Dr Pincus, (Youngest) Dr Pincus, (Senior) Dr Pincus. (Old Dr Pincus has now retired to the hospital in the sky).
Dr David Pincus is featured in this month's Journal of Paediatric and Child Health, with an article he authored with Dr Cameron Ward on examining the heart in children and babies.
Read the article here:
Journal of Paediatric and Child Health: Examination of the Heart by Dr David Pincus and Dr Cameron Ward.
This month Leading Steps Paediatric Clinic congratulates Queensland's Healthy Hearing program celebrating 10 years of service. Dr David Pincus was on the steering committee that established this initiative, with Pindara Hospital as the original trial site. This program has been wonderfully successful, testing over 500, 000 babies across Queensland. Of these babies over 1000 were found to have hearing loss and were able to access the early intervention needed to give them a stronger chance of avoiding future communication, health and learning problems.
Watch out at Leading Steps Paediatric Clinic next Friday (17 October). We'll be getting loud for Loud Shirt Day and raising money to support children with hearing impairments.
All money raised goes to the Hear and Say organisation.
Please help us help them by donating at:
This month Dr Scott Blundell was certified as an Advanced Paediatric Life Support instructor.
While every paediatrician at Leading Steps is qualified in Advanced Paediatric Life Support, Dr Blundell has graduated as an instructor and is qualified to teach other doctors in the latest knowledge and skills of lifesaving paediatric resuscitation. Dr Blundell now joins Dr Fasihullah as a qualified APLS instructor.
Dr Scott Blundell (and dinosaur)
Dr Pincus at the 6th Annual Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine conference in Chicago in September 2013.
Rescue Rumble 2013. Congratulations team D.O.A!
Dr Rogers with Oliver
Dr Hannah Rogers with her new baby.