Pediatricians in Doha..

Every family needs a good pediatrician! One that they can trust, and count on. One that both the parents and the wee ones are comfortable with. And initially, I was under the impression that there was only one or two recommended doctors. But I am glad I was wrong! Here are some of the more popular pediatricians in Qatar!

Dr Ghada Nasrat

Clinic: Fetomaternal Clinic, Markhiya
Contact: 44756369
Charges: QR 300/consultation
“We love Dr. Ghada. When we were looking for a ped, she was among the most recommended docs. And one trip to her and we knew why. She is gentle, and warm, and really interacts with the baby. She is extremely thorough, and will check everything, head to toe, and listen to all of the queries that we as parents have. I love how calm and composed she is; the way a doctor reacts can easily stress a parent out, but she has always managed to allay even our silliest fears. Some might think she is too ‘casual’, but that works for us. If she worked all day, everyday, we would never go anywhere else. ”
– Mommy Dil

Dr. Ghada she’s nice, sweet and very understanding. She goes a step forward to comfort parents and makes sure we don’t worry too much about our baby’s illness and that’s quite promising. Above all she doesn’t prescribe a lot of medicines unless really necessary. And for all these reasons I like and recommend her.
– Chithra Narayanan

Name: Dr Adriana Rassi

Clinic: Tadawi Medical Center
Contact: 40414243
Charges: QR 350/consultation

 “When my boy was ill, and there was no option of going to his regular ped, we needed a back up option. And we tried Dr. Adriana. Luckily we got an appointment right away. And we are super delighted. She is warm, and caring, and even let my boy sit in her lap and play with her bracelet while updating the systems. She definitely knows how to make it easier and fun for the baby. But what sets her apart are two things. 1. She is reachable by phone, and will respond to your queries, even post work hours. And 2. She will lay out the worst case scenario and tell you what should be done in each case! We are definitely impressed!”
– Mommy Dil

“Today I went to a new pediatrician in Tadawi – Dr. Adriana Rassi, as recommended by a friend. She’s new to the country. She is certified by the American Board of Pediatrics. She is mind blowing. I never met a doctor before who actually tried to pacify my baby by carrying her in her arms. She carried out the usual full body check up. And then she had a growth questionnaire for my girl. She also gave me a milestones guidelines sheet with details of my daughter’s growth, allergies, etc. and it also highlights things I should expect each month. She also gave me her mobile number in case of an emergency or doubt. In short what was supposed to be a 5-minute check up turned into one hour of good conversation. We also checked for my baby’s tongue-ti, and promised to discuss it with her pediatrician friend at Sidra. In short she’s excellent in communication, pretty patient and pro-active. I will highly recommend her.”
– J. E

Name: Dr Renu Angwin

Clinic: The International Medical Centre
Contact: To Be Updated
Charges: To Be Updated
“Dr Renu was the first pediatrician we went to, in fact, when my boy was just one week old. It wasn’t anything serious, just to confirm that everything was okay. And we have been to her a few times since. She is patient, and thorough, and explains everything well. The one incident that stayed with me is the one time we took my boy there cuz there was a drop of blood in his spit up. She checked him, and told us what all it could be, and what route to take for each. But I knew she realized we were still worried. And rather just letting it be, she examined him all over again, and confirmed that it was just a tiny cut. She could have easily just saved time, and let us go. But she didn’t, and to me, that meant a lot.”
– Mommy Dil

“Doctor Naima recommended Dr Renu to us – best thing ever. We visited her once and have been back to her ever since. She answers all of our questions, reassures my husband and I, and that is important, especially when we are first time parents. She speaks perfect English. Most importantly she genuinely love children. Her team and her have been so gently and loving towards my little one. We wished we knew about her much earlier but better late than never.”
– Sheryl Gabriel Bozoki

Name: Dr Amani Ibrahim

Clinic: Fetomaternal Clinic, Markhiya
Contact: 44756369
Charges: QR 300/consultation

“Fetomaternal was my clinic during my pregnancy days, and one thing I used to see is this lovely doctor who would come to the waiting room, an scoop kids in her arms, while chatting with the parents. I thought it was very nice. And the one time we did need to visit her, it was a very pleasant experience. Every question, and every doubt was cleared, and she prescribed medications and shared its dosage and details as well. She has a very comforting demeanor.”
– Mommy Dil

“She is very attentive and listens to us carefully. She is always available and gave us her WhatsApp number. My son once had a fever at 1 am and she guided us through WhatsApp until his fever was down. She will also always see us even if her appointment schedule is full. She will even see us after her working hours if she is still at the clinic. In addition to that her approach is very friendly (she always plays nursery rhymes and has toys to distract my baby during appointments). She also doesn’t prescribe unnecessary antibiotics unless really needed. She will do a throat swab or ear swab to confirm a bacterial infection before prescribing antibiotics. Dr. Amani is also very updated to the new research and guidelines with pediatrics information with regards to exclusively breastfeeding up to 6 months and feeding schedules and of course with treatment approaches. We also love how she never gets bored of us and will continue to see us for the same issue until our baby is happy and comfortable.”
– Reem Diab

Name: Dr Nesrin El Khatib

Clinic: Elite Medical Center
Contact: 44960960
Charges: QR 375/consultation

Dr. Nesrin at Elite Medical Centre. Incredibly competent and dedicated. She makes you go through ALL the questions you have and keeps you all the time you need until you feel perfectly comfortable. And she does a very detailed visit and while you talk to her she has a nurse keeping company to your baby so you can completely focus on the conversation. She also has a great CV. Best pediatrician I ever had. Highly recommended!
– Giulia Abalos

Name: Dr Lama Wardah

Clinic: Future Medical Center, Al Waab
Contact: 44510051
Charges: QR 150/consultation

“I found that she was very pleasant, friendly, answered all my questions patiently. She examined my baby very well. I had an appointment so I didn’t have to wait long. I liked that there was a baby room in the female waiting area near her cabin where I had the privacy to nurse and change the baby’s nappies.”
– Zainab Rizvi

Name: Dr Mohammed Ashraf

Clinic: Queen Medical Center, Al Waab
Contact: 44190888
Charges:

“An allergic reaction had us rushing to Queen Medical, since our regular ped was off duty at the time. Dr Ashraf was wonderful, and was patient with us even though our son’s rash had cleared by then, and he did not treat us like silly panicky parents. He spoke to us at length about how we can encourage my son to eat solids, and took us through the various challenges involved. We were quite happy with the visit. Shoutout to the sign in room – Don’t confuse your google search with my medical degree”
– Mommy Dil

Name: Dr Mohamed Anas Barakat

Clinic: Al Ahli Hospital
Contact: 44898888
Charges: QR 500/consultation

“He is the best pediatrician we’ve seen so far. We went as walk-ins during Ramadan as my daughter was running a fever and we were seen swiftly, as the nurses were nice enough to squeeze us in. They were also super comforting and consoling as I started to cry because I was worried about my daughter (note I had just had a horrible experience at Hamad pediatric ER where I had left screaming). Dr Barakat was very calm and although he was slightly rough with the checkup when my husband mentioned it he calmly explained what he did and why he did it and did not take offence. He then told us how to manage the fever, prescribed meds (she had bronchitis) at which point we were ready to leave. Also asked us to wait a few minutes and explained what we should expect over the next couple of days. He also gave us his personal number on which I contacted him a couple of times as I had a few queries and his response was clear and fast. And he said we could call his office personally to make an appointment in future.

My daughter was due for her 1-year vaccination at the same time, which he said we needed to wait to give her as she was feeling poorly. So we went a couple of weeks later for it. Again he was very informative after giving her a full checkup prior to giving the vaccine and was more gentle. And this is the point that did it for me, he filled out the 12 months checkup page on the vaccination card that no other pediatrician had done up until now on his own. The nurses at Al Ahli were also very gentle and patient even though my husband asked 100 questions as they were administering the jabs.”
– Rana Khader Memon

“He was the only doctor who would see my baby for more than 5 minutes. We are very happy with him as he checks her thoroughly and addresses our concerns. He would give more info than you would expect for a topic.”
– Kavita Prusottamen

Name: Dr Atiya Basheer

Clinic: Al Ahli Hospital
Contact: 44898888
Charges: QR 500/consultation

“I chose her after I read good reviews about it and it was easy to get an appointment with her and Al Ahli is close by. What I like about her is that she asks lots of questions and details and builds up a file for the baby and examines him thoroughly and doesn’t give any samples for formula or creams or advice for any brand or favor one. She just takes feedback on what you do and use and advices accordingly. She also supports home remedies for cold and never gave me medicine when not needed. She can be reached on the phone at the clinic from 8am until 2pm, and answers any queries we may have. We also found her to be a sweet and warm person.”
– Ranya

Name: Dr Alex Sarmiento

Clinic: Al Safa Clinic, Al Sadd
Contact: 44322448
Charges: QR 75/consultation
“Dr. Alex is very thorough and he has a calming effect on mothers because he explains well about the baby’s condition. He is also very gentle with babies. Keeping in mind he is a Filippino, I do find that many of his patients are Filipinos as well, possibly because there is no language barrier, and because we are confident of his experience and skills. I must add that I have also seen moms and babies of many other nationalities visit him, and give positive reviews.”
– Maryam Umm Laikah

Name: Dr Vinu Rajgopal

Clinic: Aster Clinic, C Ring Road
Contact:44440499
Charges: QR 100/consultation

“I, being a pharmacy professional myself, am quite picky when it comes to being impressed by a doctor. Dr Vinu has always made me feel at ease when I am worried about my little one’s ailments. We like how he prescribes very little medicines and he explains why each one is prescribed. He also goes for antibiotics or stronger meds as a last resort only. He also makes my son feel very much at ease and is the only doctor my son trusts.”
– Rumanna Suhas

Name: Dr Mohammed Samer

Clinic: Al Ahli Hospital
Contact: 44898888
Charges: QR 500/consultation

We liked Dr Samer because he is knowledgeable, and give reasonable advices. He is extremely patient and offers options.
– Roxana Allen

Name: Dr Hani Sweid

Clinic: Dr Hani Sweid Pediatrics Clinic
Contact: 44216565
Charges:

“We actually got the referral for Dr. Sweid from several Qatari colleagues of my hubby. He used to work for Hamad Corporation, and I believe he also was the head of pediatrics there. We like the fact that he always took time with us, explaining everything in English and Arabic, and made sure we understood what was happening with our kids. He never sent a patient home, no matter how many were still waiting outside. His practice is open Saturday till Thursday, from 8.30-12.30 and 4.30-8.30pm. We were also able to reach him via phone when there was the need. His staff is friendly and comforting, and very helpful. He did prescribe medication usually every time we went there, but he also tried not to overmedicate our kids.To cut it short, here are the plus points – very friendly, knowledgeable and kind Dr – takes time for examination, and explains everything – knows how to talk and interact with kids – friendly and helpful staff – long visiting hours

Negative points, though it’s all subjective – no blood drawing or vaccinations – sometimes long waiting times – some might think he over-prescribes medication – parking situation (don’t laugh at this but sometimes we had to park closely to the petrol station and then walk back – with a very sick child this is sometimes a big challenge.
– Susan Steinbinder