Integrative, Allopathic, Western, Homeopathic, Naturopathic, Functional. . . What does it all mean?
My journey towards an integrative approach to medicine was ignited by an ongoing disappointment in the standard medical practices.
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Integrative Paediatric Care
Meet Dr Jess
Dr Jessica Smith is an integrative paediatric general practitioner, focusing solely on holistic child healthcare. She has cultivated a unique role in the child healthcare space – whereby she utilises tools from her traditional medical and surgical training, as well as her integrative medical knowledge.
Jess’s journey has been deeply rooted in creating partnerships with families. Understanding each unique story, she collaborates towards holistic well-being, ensuring every child’s health is approached with empathy and expertise.
Jess runs a thriving practice in the beautiful Cape Town and has a deep love for ongoing research and learning. She is the co-founder of Sprout, a multi-disciplinary team of aligned healthcare practitioners who together strive for holistic care for growing families.
When not caring for patients, Jess wears her other hats. As a wife and mother of two, she spends much of her time trying to find balance and joy in watching her family grow and learning from her own beautiful children. Jess is an avid reader and an outdoor enthusiast who is always up for a new trail up the lovely mountain (kids on the back) or a chilly ocean dip.
Meet Dr Tyla
Dr Tyla is a paediatric GP with over a decade’s worth of paediatric experience. Over the course of her career, she has had the privilege of caring for children across all stages of development, from newborns and infants to adolescents, and supporting their families through both routine health needs and complex medical challenges.
Working closely with specialist paediatricians for a decade has shaped not only her clinical skills but also her philosophy of care. She believes deeply in approaching each child as a whole person and each family as a unique unit with their own story, needs, and strengths. Her practice is grounded in holistic evidence-based medicine, compassion, clear communication, and a gentle, family-centred approach.
Beyond being a doctor, she is also a mother to two young, beautiful children, an experience that has profoundly influenced the way she understands and practices paediatric and family-centred medicine. Being a parent allows her to connect with families on a deeper level, bringing empathy, patience, and a lived understanding of the challenges, anxieties, and celebrations that come with raising children. This personal insight strengthens her commitment to providing care that supports not just the child, but the entire family system.
She is passionate about creating an environment where parents feel heard and supported and where children feel safe, understood, and cared for. She values continuity of care and takes pride in building long-standing, trusting relationships with families.
My Approach to Care
My journey to integrative paediatrics began early into medical school, where I constantly found that standard, traditional Western medicine could not answer all of my questions, and too often was focused on symptomatic treatment, not directed at the root cause of disease. As my experience through hospital-based paediatrics grew, I further felt that so often we were missing the boat, dealing with ‘reactive’ -medicine. After becoming a Mother myself, my interest for optimising health and preventative medicine became an absolute passion. I believe in a dual approach to children’s health – combatting acute issues with evidence-based medicine, and optimising health with integrative modalities and nutrition. I love to teach and empower parents to feel equipped in making informed decisions about their child’s health and to learn to trust their own intuition when it comes to their family’s well-being.
Services Offered
Primary Paediatric Care
Comprehensive medical care tailored to the unique needs of every child, ensuring their optimal health and well-being.
Holistic, Integrative Child Health
A balanced approach that combines traditional paediatric practices with holistic methods, ensuring a comprehensive care plan for every child.
Routine Childhood Follow-ups
Regular check-ins at important ages and stages – to monitor, support and optimise your child’s growth and development.
○ 6-week visit: an essential early check-up to monitor your baby’s initial growth and to screen for important possible issues or difficulties. This visit allows for all parental concerns to be heard and addressed fully.
○ 4-month visit: a review of developmental milestones, growth and overall health. An important time to discuss nutrition, allergens, and how to optimise your baby’s growth and development going forward.
○ 8-month visit: ensuring your child is on track with physical and cognitive development, and discussing the gentle balance of solid foods and milk intake.
○ 12-month visit: a crucial check to ensure your child’s first year has set a solid foundation for health. Screening opportunity for potential issues.
○ 18-month visit: a review of your toddler’s progress, addressing any nutritional, sleep, developmental or physical concerns.
Tongue and Lip Tie Evaluation and Treatment
- Comprehensive evaluation of your baby’s feeding abilities and breastfeeding/bottle feeding assessment. A multi-disciplinary approach is taken to ensure all avenues of support are explored, and surgical corrective procedures are performed if necessary to optimise feeding, growth, oral airway, speech development and maternal breastfeeding comfort.
Childhood Nutrition
- Comprehensive guidance and support for parents, ensuring optimal nutrition, growth and development. Specific areas of interest include infant feeding, toddler nutrition and fussy eaters, gut health, brain health, and immune function.
Contact Us
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Articles by Dr Jess
@doctor_jess_
The information provided on this website is by no means a substitute for seeing your doctor if you have major concerns about your child. For formal medical advice and appointments with Jessica, please contact the practice for a consultation.
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