Integrative Pediatrics Collective Blog

When I first met Emily, a 7-year-old whose mother brought her in for persistent fatigue, patchy rashes, and difficulty concentrating, nothing in her history suggested a unifying diagnosis. Her growth was appropriate, her sleep only mildly irregular, and her physical exam was notable only for mild allergic stigmata. But her mother was carrying something heavier […]

Most pediatricians have at least heard of acupuncture, Reiki, Healing Touch, or homeopathy. Some have seen children or families seek these modalities to complement conventional care. Yet for clinicians trained in a reductionist biomedical framework, the underlying rationale behind “energy medicine” can feel nebulous—mystical, even. To many of us, modalities like acupuncture or Reiki seem

Each winter, pediatricians and parents alike brace for the steady stream of colds, coughs, and influenza-like illnesses that spread through classrooms and households. While most viral respiratory infections are self-limited, the discomfort they cause—stuffy noses, fever, fatigue, and cough—often leads families to seek relief beyond conventional medicine. Integrative pediatrics offers a framework for supporting the

Homeopathy has long held a place in complementary and alternative medicine, inspiring both passionate advocates and skeptical critics. Conventional science, including numerous systematic reviews and meta-analyses, generally finds that homeopathy does not outperform placebo in randomized controlled trials. The 2019 Health & Social Care in the Community review of 61 systematic reviews and meta-analyses concluded that the effects of

Over the past decade, research on the gut microbiome has transformed how we think about health and disease. Parents are increasingly aware of the “gut-brain axis,” probiotics, and the role of microbes in immunity—and many now arrive at pediatric visits carrying results from stool analysis kits such as GI-MAP or Tiny Health. These tests promise insight into a

Functional abdominal pain is one of the most common—and challenging—complaints in pediatric practice. As integrative medicine practitioners, many of us turn to evidence-based herbal options like peppermint oil (PMO), particularly for children with functional abdominal pain (FAP) or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), where traditional therapies may offer limited relief. While PMO is widely used for