Pediatric Associates

My wife brought our 7-month-old daughter to Pediatric Associates - Miami Lakes for a visit with Dr. Airama Padron. The appointment was specifically for our daughter to receive the polio vaccine. We are not anti-vaccine. Our older child has already received multiple vaccines. What we have chosen as parents is to vaccinate in spaced appointments so we can observe our children for any concerning changes. Dr. Padron questioned why we were only doing the polio vaccine and who recommended that approach. When my wife explained that we both made that decision together, Dr. Padron argued with her and made her feel judged instead of heard. This was not about ego. This was about a mother trying to make a careful medical decision for her 7 month old daughter. The most upsetting part was that Dr. Padron left the exam room with the door open, and my wife overheard her say words to the effect of, "These people think they are doctors." My wife came home distressed, humiliated, and sad. That… comment says everything. We are not pretending to be doctors. We are parents. We are the people who carry the responsibility if something goes wrong with our children. Parents today are not unreasonable for being cautious. Official medical guidance changes. The CDC's own hepatitis B guidance has now changed to individual decisions citing "vaccine risks," when just a year ago it was treated as the standard routine recommendation. The federal government also has VAERS for adverse event reports and HRSA's Vaccine Injury Compensation Program because vaccine injuries are real enough to track and compensate. Parent reports do not prove causation by themselves, but when many parents report serious concerns, and when the stakes are an infant's health, caution is not irrational. It is responsible. A pediatrician can recommend a schedule. A pediatrician can disagree with spaced vaccination. They should provide a solid argument, though. A pediatrician can explain the medical reasoning. But a pediatrician should not shame a mother, dismiss both parents' decision, and then make a contemptuous comment where the parent can hear it. Dr. Padron's conduct made her impossible for us to trust as an impartial guide in that moment. She did not treat my wife like a concerned mother making a serious, reasonable decision for her baby. She treated her like someone to be corrected, dismissed, and mocked. This visit was painful and unacceptable. It made us trust this office less, not more. If Pediatric Associates - Miami Lakes cannot handle thoughtful parents who ask questions and choose interval vaccination appointments, they should say that upfront. Other parents should know what happened here before trusting this office with sensitive decisions about their children.