About Our Doctors
They are all certified by the American Board of Pediatrics and are Fellows of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Health Care Practioner Information
Loraine Stern, MD
Was born in Chicago and attended the University of Chicago for college and medical school.
Her pediatric training was at UCLA, where she came to get warm in the winter. She wrote a regular feature magazine for 20 years and wrote for Pampers.com
for twelve years.
She has two stepchildren and has absolutely no interest in football because Chicago did not have a football team.
Kathy Brockett, MD
Was born in Los Angeles, went to college and medical school at UC San Diego and did her pediatric residency at USC-Los Angeles
County Hospital. She is married and has one child. She has been with Valencia Pediatrics since 1988. She does not care who wins
the USC-UCLA games. Her daughter’s golf handicap is .7.
Michael Schoenwetter, MD
Is a native Californian who went to college at UCLA, medical school at UC Irvine and did his pediatric training at UCLA.
He was chosen to be chief resident for an additional year. He is married and has two children. He is an avid fantasy
football player and is a truly “handicapped golfer."
He and Dr Stern have created
NewbornCare101,
a website and instructional DVD for new parents. He is the
resident pediatrician for
Modernmom.com.
Brian Kirschner, MD
Was born in New Jersey. He attended the College of William and Mary in Virginia and Medical College of Virginia. He
completed his residency at UCLA, as well as being chosen to be chief resident. He is married and has
two children.
Enjoys football, fantasy football and hockey.
Rebecca Whitney Mandel, MD
Was born in New Hampshire, resided in Maine and attended Harvard
University. She went to Tulane for medical school where she obtained her
MD and a Master’s Degree in Public Health. She then saw the light and
came to California for her residency at UCLA and spent an extra year as
chief resident. She is a runner and spends all the extra time she can in
movie theaters. She is married and has two children.
Neela Sethi, MD
Dr. Neela Sethi was born and raised in Palos Verdes, California. She attended the University of California at Los Angeles for her undergraduate training, and graduated both Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a major in Psychobiology. She stayed a loyal Bruin and continued at UCLA medical school, where she graduated with honors. She completed her residency in Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine at Cedars Sinai Medical Center. Her special interests include childhood obesity, nutrition and breastfeeding advocacy. She is also trained as a certified lactation educator.
Recommended Reading
Caring for Your Baby and Young Child
Birth to Age 5th Edition
Dealing with sex:
Where Did I Come From? Peter Mayle, Lyle Stuart Books, 1977
What’s Happening to Me:
Peter Mayle, Kensington, 1975
A guide to the changes of puberty.
Although these are old books, they are classics. They explain without being clinical and use a little humor.
Let’s Talk About S-E-X,
Sam Gitchel and Lorri Foster, 2005
A guide for children 9-12 and their parents
Dealing with a sick newborn:
Supporting Siblings and Their Families During Intensive Baby Care; Baltimore MD; Paul H Brooks, 2007
Children whose siblings are in neonatal intensive care units have an array of feelings. Parents are often so overwhelmed with the sick baby that it is hard to pay attention to the healthy ones. This book helps to allay some of the confusion and anxiety that families have to deal with.
Vaccines and Autism:
Do Vaccines Cause That?!;
Martin G. Myers, M.D. and Diego Pineda, 2008
Autism’s False Prophets: Paul A.
Offit, M.D., 2008
For concerns about eating disorders:
Your Dieting Daughter by Carolyn Costin
Life Without Ed by Jenni Schaffer
Cancer:
For Parents
Rauch PK, Muriel AC. Raising an emotionally healthy child when a parent is sick. New York, NY: McGraw-Hili; 2006.
McCue K. How to help children through a parent's serious illness. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press; 1994.
Harpham WS. When a parent has cancer: A guide to caring for your children. New York, NY: Harper-Collins Publishers; 1997.
For Children
Clifford, C. Our Family has Cancer, Too! Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 1998.
Harpham, WS. Becky and the Worry Cup. New York, NY: HarperColI'ns; 1997.
Numeroff, LJ. The Hope Tree: Kids Talk About Breast Cancer. New Yprk, NY: Simon & Schuster; 2001.
Speltz, A. The Year My Mother Was Bald. Washington, DC: Maginatlon Press; 2002.
Websites
www.mghpact.org.
Massachusetts General Hospital: Parenting at Challenging Time
program
www.lotsahelpinghands.com. Offers an online organizing
tool an private group calendar to assist communities of helpers
www.cancer.org. American Cancer Society: "Patients,
family, and friends" section
www.cancer.gov. National Cancer Institute: "When someone
in your family has cancer" section
www.cancer.net. American Society of Clinical Oncology:
"How a child understands cancer" section