History

Developmental medicine at Stanford University and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital traces its roots to the follow-up of the high-risk infant. The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit has been a member of the National Institutes of Child Health and Development (NICHD) Neonatal Research Network since the 1990s. This membership required close attention to neurodevelopmental outcomes as a primary approach to the evaluation of medical interventions for high risk infants. High risk infant follow-up remains a central clinical and research activity in this division.

In 1999 the American Board of Medical Specialties approved subspecialty status for Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics (DBP). Residency training in DBP became a requirement within the general pediatric residency. The clinical programs in Neonatal and Developmental Medicine continued to receive requests for evaluation of children with developmental and behavioral problems who were not high risk infants. The need for a defined program became increasingly apparent. In 2005, the chair of Pediatrics convened a task force to upgrade residency training in developmental-behavioral pediatrics. In 2006, when Heidi M Feldman MD PhD joined the faculty, a formal section within the division was formed. In 2008, we launched a developmental-behavioral pediatrics fellowship, funded in part by a grant from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau.

For more Division History click here.