Lana Abelson, MD, MS

Edit: this happened nearly two years ango and still makes me cringe how awful this care was by an unqualified doctor. STAY AWAY. Doesn’t look like Dr. Tenenbaum associates with her any longer. I warn any family to not come here. We had heard great things about Dr. Tenenbaum but unfortunately given timing of birth, only her partner Dr. Lana Vasilijevic Abelson was available within the 3-5 day post birth time frame as Dr. Tenenbaum was on vacation. We had a beyond traumatic experience and am solely posting this review so other families are aware of the type of practice that is run here. While we’d love to see Dr. Tenenbaum, I cannot risk my baby being seen ever again by Dr. Abelson given the experience.. perhaps Dr. Tenenbaum should reconsider who she hires. Back to our experience, our newborn born at Cedars who is on track to be back at birth weight via solely breastfeeding within 7 days (vs the 2 week guidance), Dr. Abelson without listening to the medical history and recount of when… my milk came in (at 2.5 days post birth which is early..) forced us to keep our cold/screaming newborn in just a diaper for “further checks” and had us do a non standard weighted feed even though I had told her I had just fed her prior to the appt. A hard plastic chair with a freshly torn perineum is a special pain, and in hindsight we should have walked out then. She then came back in 15 minutes later post feed (us still shivering and trying to keep our baby as warm and soothed as possible) because she was just sitting there doing paperwork in the office when there were no other patients in the office (day after 7/4). Her demeanor was disrespectful and condescending and her words coming in were “I have bad news, you need to supplement”. I told her I was not going to do that as my milk had just come in and given the hourly count since birth she is within normal weight loss range and has zero other medical concerns.. and Dr. Abelson’s response was “says who, where are you getting your information”, “you’re wrong”, and “I am a licensed pediatrician” (exact words!). She then stomped out like a toddler without closing the door.. leaving all of us half clothed and exposed to the rest of the office.. Guess what Dr. Abelson, that was terrible medical advice.. where did you get your license (oh right an undergrad degree in theatre..)? A google textbook that lauds the 10% loss rule without factoring in time since birth and lactation patterns? If you want to be seen by a doctor who spits out truly only what’s on google and is alarmist, cold, and condescending - this is your place.. otherwise I’d seriously consider looking elsewhere.. honestly ANYWHERE. With that said the nurse and office personnel were lovely! Good luck to parents who are looking for a qualified doctor at a convenient South Bay location but unfortunately this is not it. Apologies Dr. Tenenbaum, but you should be aware of who you choose to represent you and your practice. Good luck to all new families reading this review!