<span itemprop="author">Sonal Patel, MD

Author's posts

Treating formula as medicine may increase breastfeeding rates

Currently, there is an outcry against the pressures of breastfeeding, with an underlying backlash against the stigma of bottle feeding. Commercials from formula companies, such as Bobbie, are playing at the hearts of struggling breastfeeding mothers. T…

Can the Maternal CARE Act fail moms? 

In 2018, then-Senator Kamala Harris introduced the Maternal CARE (Care Access and Reducing Emergencies) Act and added the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act of 2020.  Collectively, both pieces of legislation would create a task force to study sobering …

Now is the time for postpartum home visits

I ring the doorbell, waiting patiently outside.  I hear a weak “coming” and some shuffling.  Who greets me is a mother in her robe, hunched over at the waist, supporting her protruding postpartum belly.  Her hair is disheveled.  Her mask is revealing e…

Confessions of a bed-sharing pediatrician mom

I remember lying in my bed after my second delivery in severe pain. With my first delivery, I had already endured a C-section. Four years later, I wanted to experience a “natural” delivery. I opted for a vaginal delivery after C-section (VBAC). The VBA…