integrative pediatrics

“… as a colleague in raising awareness and continuing education opportunities  for compassionate care among human service providers with Integrate Trauma Informed Network, as my kid’s pediatrician and as my mantra teacher in my Yoga Teacher Training at Joy of Yoga.  She has been an asset on my YTT journey in helping me understand her how mantra has influenced her worldview, personal healing and practice as an Integrative Pediatrician.”
-JJ

“My family and I are moving out of state this week and I wanted to sincerely thank Dr. French for the care of our son, C.

We like to say that C is a "sensitive soul," and we had struggled to find him a good medical home for primary care. I sought out Dr. French because of her focus on Integrative Medicine. From our first visit, I have not been disappointed. Dr. French was beyond "personable." I so appreciated that she spoke with me and my husband about C's entire medical history, from his birth story to his daily life, and that she listened to the concerns we had that other providers had just brushed aside. Dr. French engaged with C during our visits in a way that other providers had been unable to; he loves Dr. French (and talks about her at home when he plays). Dr. French's integrative approach, which included lab testing that we would not have gotten elsewhere, helped us discover some of the underlying causes for C’s anxiety and behavior. Dr. French provided sound medical advice that I felt was tailored to C's unique needs, and her more "integrative" recommendations have served him so well. C's anxiety has greatly improved with the supplements and supportive treatments recommended by Dr. French. I sincerely appreciated that Dr. French's integrative approach to care also integrated us as parents. I have felt that other more "conventional" providers that worked with our family operated from a "top down" approach. I experienced just the opposite with Dr. French, and appreciated that her suggestions/recommendations came in the form of a conversation. I also appreciated that she provided concrete education on ways that we could help C on a daily basis, including diet.

I have recommended Dr. French's office to friends with the hope that Integrative Medicine will become the new standard of care for children in our region.

Thank you from our whole family!”

“We do not know what would be happening to our children right now if we did not find Dr. French or pediatric Integrative medicine. We are so thankful that SSM offers this, works with insurance, and that this is not a private practice who charges 100's of dollars out of pocket per visit. If that were the case, we would have been choosing between feeding our children and getting them the care that they needed. I also would like to add that we have been impressed with the Cardinal Glennon physicians that we have seen (and still see), unlike other pediatric hospitals in the area, Cardinal Glennon physicians seem to actually look at our children as that, children. Our children have not been treated like a statistic or a number or a study at Cardinal Glennon. This has happened to both of our children at other hospitals. I sincerely hope the type of care that Cardinal Glennon offers continues and continues to look at each and every child as an individual.”

“We were so very fortunate to find Dr. French. After 3 years of searching for help for my now 5 year old, we are now making strides in her health thanks to Dr. French. She has had loose stools all of her life and eczema to the point where she would itch it until bleeding. Her pediatrician said that the stools were not a concern and prescribed some cream to put on the eczema that never helped. I also took her to chiropractors hoping for different treatment.

Dr. French was able to incorporate her training in integrative medicine as well as her education in Western medicine to seek out solutions and treatment for her. Her eczema is now gone and her bowel movements are normal. Dr. French uncovered underlying causes to other issues she was also having. I recommend Dr. French to EVERYONE that is looking for answers in their child’s health and does not feel comfortable with always being handed a prescription. She keeps current on research and understands and treats the whole person.”

“Profound gratitude. This is the feeling I have after leaving the office of Dr. Anu French. We have three children, ages 11, 8, and 5 who are all patients of Dr. French. We have lived in St. Louis for 7 years and in that time I have searched for a pediatrician that practices integrative medicine. 2 years ago, I found that pediatrician and am so thankful for her. Our 8 year old daughter has a rare auto-inflammatory condition that has us working with a variety of physicians across the U.S. and Dr. French is the light between them all. Incorporated into our daughter's care are treatment modalities that are not considered conventional. Dr. French not only accepts this path we are taking, but embraces these options with a strong medical understanding that there is merit in these other treatment options.

It is with immense admiration, to see a physician using the foundation of her medical background to courageously nudge medicine in a direction that looks to treat the underlying root cause of disease and not just the symptoms. This is not an easy process and it takes quite a bit of time and patience to peel back those symptomatic layers to find the much needed answers, but Dr. French does this. She approaches her patients and families with a level of empathy, dedication, and expertise that leaves us knowing we have been "heard and understood". For our family, Dr. Anu French embodies what a physician should and can be and we do not know what we would do without her.”

“ My baby was born early. We spent two months in the NICU and selecting a pediatrician to care for our son was paramount. It was an intense thought process because we wanted the best fit for our family and the best doctor for our baby. Dr Anu French surpasses our expectations and I am so blessed that she cares for our baby.”

“I had no idea who Dr. French was or what she could really offer our sweet son as I found her via a Google search for integrative pediatricians. However, we were at a very low point with our son’s health and were desperately looking for someone that could help us and that was also covered on our insurance.

So we made the appointment and our son’s story continues to be one of triumph and balance. Our son, C was nutritionally depleted, suffering from an overwhelming amount of food sensitivities, allergies, eczema, emotionally unbalanced and overall just unhealthy, despite all of our best efforts.

Dr. French’s holistic (whole body) approach to treating C has been so successful. She took a conservative yet strategic approach to address our concerns without breaking the bank. Dr. French values the input of our role as parents. She trusts when we say something is not working and she gives us hope and support to continue to work through the challenges. Her minimally invasive approach to treatment is so important to us. We didn’t want to medicate our son to change his behavior, we wanted to heal and treat our child from the inside out. We have been able to do that. Dr. French is always seeking and sharing new options with us and she never quits trying. Her bedside manner is second to none and her spirit is healing in and of itself. We always leave with our hope cup filled to the rim.

This treatment has been life changing for him and for our family. She has guided us to a more optimum level of living via diet and overall cleaning up our environment of detrimental toxins and hazards. Every little step has gotten us to where we are today. Currently, C is holding his own in Kindergarten. He is making forward progress in all areas and we are so indebted to Dr. French. We adamantly assert that more children and families need access to physicians like her. We speak her praises when we can and give thanks for her every single day. Parenting is tough. Being an adoptive parent with a medically fragile, genetically disadvantaged child who suffered 18 months of trauma is overwhelming. With Dr. French in our corner, we feel empowered, we feel educated and we feel hope for a successful life for our beautiful and charming little C.”

Dr. French has been such a blessing to us!

This has been especially appreciated with one of our 4 children. We were having a very difficult time with our daughter. We knew something was causing her difficulties, but we could not put our finger on it. She was sick often, distracted, anxious, and angry. Our daughter had a long list of nutritional deficiencies. Dr. French helped us understanding why her body was not absorbing the nutrients it needed to function properly. She walked along with us to help us know what our daughter's body needed to work properly. Dr French helped bring peace back to our home and helped our daughter gain better focus in school. She helped us get our happy and fun-loving child back! Understanding some of her genetics, now we know how to help her have brain, gut, and whole body health for the life ahead of her. We have a family history of Early Onset Alzheimer's, liver failure, cancer, and multiple autoimmune diseases. I have hope that we are walking in a way that help prevent these things for all of our children.

We have tears of joy thinking of how we have been blessed by Dr. Anu French and the work she is doing at SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Pediatrics Please keep up the good work in helping families!

My name is AM and my three kids (ages 9, 7, and 3) are all patients of Dr. French. I just wanted to say how much we absolutely adore Dr. French and how much she has helped us on our health journey. I am so impressed with so many things about her, especially her depth of knowledge regarding "mysterious" health issues (i.e., autoimmune, chronic, etc.) and her ability to help the children who struggle with them recover. These issues are prolific among children today, and there are not many well qualified doctors who can effectively deal with them. She is one of the few who can. Her bedside manner with both kids and parents is also impressive. She truly is a gift to our family, and we are so thankful for the help she has given us. My children have improved so much under her care. She is an impressive and wonderful doctor, and I just wanted to provide that feedback.

“Dr. Anu French began treating my daughter 18 months ago and after using her protocols to help reduce inflammation in her body and provide her with the appropriate supplementation she is now is able to eat whatever she wants.

Her father and I have spent thousands of dollars over the last 6 years trying to get her healthy. For the last 5 years, she has never been able to go outside for at least 3 months of the school year due to severe asthma and allergies. She had lots of anger and frustration about years on a wheat free, soy free, dairy free life style that was constantly blocking her enjoyment of "normal" kids activities. She was so angry about never feeling normal and the limitations that she constantly faced.

Her asthma is so much better, her chronic belly pain has gone away and her eczema is so much better. Dr. Anu French has fundamentally improved the health and wellbeing of my daughter, which has now helped her identify as a strong healthy kid that has a positive future ahead of her. I thank her from the bottom of my heart, tears welling up now as I write this. I thank her for her compassion, commitment to holistic medicine, for taking insurance, for her service to children and the healing of my daughter.”