If you're one of the thousands of parents who feel frustrated and overwhelmed by the different kinds of medical advice you're getting from doctors, homeopaths, and others, then you will find comfort -- and answers -- in this comprehensive guide to integrative medicine for children. Fully updated and revised to reflect the numerous recent advances in this field, Dr. Kemper's The Holistic Pediatrician incorporates the best of both mainstream and alternative medicine to aid parents in dealing with the most common childhood health problems. From ear infections to allergies, fevers to diaper rash, colds to bedwetting, this invaluable guide provides factual advice that aims to heal the whole child, rather than espousing one medical philosophy or another.

Based on scientific evidence and written in commonsense language rather than medical jargon, The Holistic Pediatrician is the first place any parent should turn for authoritative and empowering advice on all aspects of their children's health.

"I've taken my child to so many doctors, I've lost count," Helen began. "The pediatrician put him on antibiotics to prevent any more ear infections, but the medicines gave him diarrhea and a yeast infection. The chiropractor said that adjusting his neck would help, but I didn't think it helped much and I didn't like all the X rays. The naturopath recommended some herbs and vitamins, but my insurance wouldn't pay for them. None of these doctors thought the other ones did any good; they all seemed more interested promoting their own particular therapy than in working with each other to help my child. I'm frustrated and confused. How can the best, the safest, and most effective of all available treatments be combined for my child?"

Helen's story epitomizes many families' complaints about the health care system. In the 1990s, my colleague at Harvard, Dr. David Eisenberg, published two landmark scientific surveys in the New England Journal of Medicine and the Journal of the American Medical Association; his research showed that the percentage of Americans using complementary and alternative medical (CAM) therapies increased from about 30% to over 40% in less than ten years. Dr. John Astin followed this work with extensive interviews to find out why CAM was so popular in an era in which mainstream medicine and public health had achieved unprecedented success; he found that many people felt that CAM therapies and therapists relied on values and worldviews that were more consistent with their personal beliefs than the very objective, technology-rich world of modern medicine.

Different kinds of practitioners have different theories, rely on different treatments, and often compete rather than cooperate with one another. It doesn't have to be this way. Rather than being polarized and competitive, healing can be family-centered, integrated, cooperative, and holistic. In her bestselling books, Kitchen Table Wisdom and My Grandfather's Blessings, pediatrician Dr. Rachel Remen has shared story after beautiful story about the heart of healing.

The bedrock underlying all true healing is the clear intention to express and embody compassion. Whether the health care provider is a physician, nurse, acupuncturist, herbalist, or parent, concern for the patient's well-being is the first prerequisite for healing. Healers also need to be deeply mindful of the most peaceful, harmonious aspects of themselves and bring that awareness to the fore when working with infants, children, adolescents, and their families. I believe that the best healers are incredibly mindful, and I encourage my students, residents, and colleagues to commit to a daily meditation practice (such as the ones described by Jon Kabat-Zinn in Full Catastrophe Living and by Saki Santorelli in Heal Thy Self) to strengthen this nonjudgmental awareness in themselves.

Ideally, both professionals and parents lay aside their personal concerns when faced with an ill child. The focus should be on the child's and family's goals for wellness and healing.

Goals of Healing

• Cure disease
• Manage or mitigate symptoms
• Prevent disease or disability
• Promote health and vitality; rehabilitation
• Eliminate toxins and minimize stress
• Enhance harmony, connections to family and community; be present Promote inner peace

My patients and colleagues have taught me that many different goals can be valid and held simultaneously. Most doctors immediately think of the goal of curing disease; this is appropriate and achievable when the problem is pneumococcal pneumonia, but it is not feasible for all patients with all conditions. Mainstream medicine is...

Kathi J. Kemper, M.D., M.P.H., is a pediatrician on the faculty of Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and the Mind-Body Medical Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. She has an international reputation as a pediatric researcher and educator and is director of the first center for holistic pediatric education and research in the United States, as well as a member of the prestigious American Pediatric Society. Dr. Kemper is former president of the Ambulatory Pediatric Association, as well as the first chair of its Special Interest Group on Holistic Medicine.