Monroe Pediatrics Inc / Andrea V. Hill MD

06/02/2026

I don’t know what you all did this weekend, but I got certified as a Bare Knuckle Boxing physician instructor this weekend.

Crazy for a pediatrician you might think, but Bare Knuckle Boxing has the lowest rate of brain injuries out of the combat sport events I work. And, as someone who lost her husband to Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy and Su***de, I think less brain injuries is something I can get behind.

Fun weekend with the Association of Ringside Physicians. Ask me about my weekend when you see me in the office 🤣

Dr Hill

05/31/2026

Today I was thinking about something. I had a medical meeting this weekend and as someone who helped put on the event, I had to fill out financial disclosures.

Whenever doctors give medical talks at medical meetings where continuing education credits are offered, we have to disclose if we get money from any pharmaceutical companies or other medical companies because if you receive money from them, it can bias your speeches/talks.

I have a mountain cabin. Some people might think I have a vacation home because I got rich as a doctor. But, the truth is. Bayer pharmaceuticals helped pay for my cabin.

And not the way you might think.

I sued them.

Most doctors understand complaints many people have about pharmaceutical companies… their fears about big pharma and distrust. But, we learn to study research and data with a critical eye that those outside medicine often don’t have. We tend to accept the flaws in our medical pharmaceutical industries and see it as a necessary evil in progress.

I actually have a little bit different opinion. When I was 18, I started birth control pills. But a little while after starting them, I began to get migraines where half of my body went numb. When I saw a neurologist, he patted me on the head and told me that I was going to be a doctor, a mother and a wife and that those were 3 full time jobs and I needed to learn to deal with stress. (Even at 18 I wondered if he would have said this to a man and got quite angry).

He didn’t mention the birth control pills at all. I stopped taking them myself. And I never went on them again - until I was in my 30s. At that time Bayer came out with a birth control pill that was supposed to be lower in estrogen. It was praised as a breakthrough for women. My OBGYN and I decided I should try it and just stop if if my migraines got worse.

A few short months later after starting then, I almost died. Blood clots formed in my legs and broke off to my lungs. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t move. In the ICU that first night I was so sure I was going to die that a lawyer friend came into the icu to make a will for me and the nurses witnessed it.

A week later or so, I relaxed and realized I was going to live and I went on with life. Lungs a bit scarred. A little more easily short of breath. And a little more afraid of dying.

Lawyers reached out to me asking me to sue Bayer. I refused for several years. I didn’t want to be someone who sued anyone. I was a doctor after all. We don’t sue people right?

Until one day when I learned that the FDA and Bayer knew that their product had an increased risk for blood clots. And, I found out that 5 members of the FDA group that voted NOT to let patients know about this increased risk had financial ties to Bayer Pharmaceuticals. They received money from Bayer.

The conversation I imagined made me feel sick. You see, when you have a history of blood clots or a blood clotting disorder, oftentimes you need to take an aspirin every day for the rest of your life. And since Bayer has the most well known aspirin.. I couldn’t help but think it was a win win for them in their mind.

Now, when I fill out those financial disclosures for a medical conference I take them very seriously. And when I go to my cabin to find mental peace, I am reminded of the time I thought I was going to die, and how it taught me to savor sunrises like this one.

I understand our medical system is far from perfect. And I think there are many lessons in this story of mine. The biggest is how money and politics damage medicine.

This weekend, as other times when I have filled out financial disclosures for medical lectures, I am proud to say that this cabin is the only time I have ever received money from a drug company.

Medications have changed our lives. But I don’t think doctors should be influenced, or the FDA, or politicians by the dollar. Politicians interfere too much with science. Big pharma can be a blessing and a curse. Doctors need to rise above them both, in my opinion.

Just my thoughts and today’s truth telling.
🤗🤗Dr Hill

Dr Andrea Hill is the founder of Monroe Pediatrics and mom to two daughters.

05/30/2026

05/25/2026

Swimming lessons are so so important for your kids. Lack of good and plentiful swim programs in Walton county was the main reason I helped bring the YMCA to our county.
Check out their swim lessons for your kids this summer!!!

Knowing how to swim should be considered an important life skill, not something special or just for some children.

The AAP recommends swim lessons as a layer of protection against drowning. Many kids will be ready to start lessons at age one. Here are a few things to keep in mind while choosing a program:

1. Are the instructors trained and certified through a nationally recognized learn-to-swim curriculum? Are there lifeguards on duty who have current CPR and First Aid certifications?

2. Do they teach good safety habits in, on and near water?

3. Do they teach your child what to do if they end up in the water unexpectedly?

4. Do they offer adapted aquatics for children with special health needs and developmental disabilities?

Learn more: https://bit.ly/2QgLe7M

05/24/2026

I think about resilience a lot. Some psychologists think that the increase in anxiety in children we are seeing is a result of lack of resilience training.

Many children lack resilience due to something we thought we were doing right as parents - fixing their problems for them and focusing on keeping them happy.

But, adversity is actually needed to develop resilience.

I’m really good at problem solving. I used to say that when I solve a problem I don’t fish with a fishing pole, I throw a net. I can think about every issue involved in a problem and tackle them all quickly and effectively. So, with my older daughter - I solved a lot of her problems for her. I didn’t help her by doing this even though I thought I did.

With my younger daughter, I struggled with the balancing act of this. I overcorrected.

She was bullied and I kept trying to help her problem solve by herself and solve it. However, the other girl ultimately gave my daughter a concussion, from which she suffered symptoms for months.

Not only did she have the physical symptoms of concussion, knowing that her father had chronic traumatic encephalopathy from too many hits to the head as a fighter - and that because of this he died by su***de, she had extreme emotional fear of the consequences of a concussion that many children wouldn’t have ever experienced. She worried about her brain and cried for months saying her brain was damaged. We went through a lot together because of this concussion.

I learned then, reading more about bullies and what to do as a parent, that we must step in quickly as parents when it comes to bullies.

I messed that one up big time.

But, we don’t have to step back from bullies to teach resilience to our children. We can teach resilience by not over helping with homework. Not over helping with normal friend issues. Not helicopter parenting.

I have always been grateful for my resilience in life, even though hard things happened to me as a child to build it.

As an adult, I have had some horrible things happen to me and I always come out on the other side asking myself, “What can I learn from this? What can I improve going forward to make sure this doesn’t happen to me again?” I want my daughters to be able to do that without suffering too much learning it along the way.

My younger daughter is definitely becoming an amazingly resilient girl, and I learned better how to deal with a bully the hard way through our experience. But just thinking about resilience reminds me how hard it is to be a parent. And, how even I mess up - and I’m supposed to be an expert on parenting. Sadly I don’t think anyone is a true expert. We just do our best.

Think about how you can help build resilience in your child. And remember that your job isn’t just to keep your child “happy”.

Just my thoughts this Sunday.

*it’s also good to have fun with them too.. like my spring break trip to Disney this year. We just have to balance it all. So tough.

Dr Hill

05/23/2026

Our office will be closed Monday for Memorial Day.

We will reopen Tuesday at our normal time.

While most people use this weekend as a long weekend to welcome the summer, I hope everyone takes a moment to remember their loved ones and or ancestors who we honor on this holiday weekend.

Sometimes we forget that Memorial Day is supposed to honor those who have died in war. And while I understand that is the true purpose of the holiday, I want to take a personal moment to honor the memory of my grandfathers and my uncle.

My maternal grandfather was the most brilliant man I have ever known. He helped found the CIA and gave his whole life to the service of this country, primarily overseas in very extreme and dangerous circumstances. He might not have been in the military but he was a quiet and unsung national hero.

My paternal grandfather was from a Dutch immigrant family who lied about his age and signed up for WWII after Hi**er invaded his home country of The Netherlands. The trauma he suffered during war caused him to suffer for the rest of his life. After he received shock therapy too too many times from the military to treat his trauma, he untimely died with brain damage. All of this due to his years of service to our country.

My uncle Sonny. My Uncle Sonny was absolutely the coolest man you could ever hope to meet in your life. He hunted huge animals in Africa, he skied all the mountains of Europe and the USA, he helped make the original dive tables that scuba divers use every day by diving down with the Navy until he got sick and then making notes of it. He also served in the Navy during WWII. In WWII the Navy guys on ships should take turns sleeping on deck. It could be very cold, so they dug holes in the ship walls by their hammocks on deck so some of the heat would come out and keep them warm. Those ship walls had asbestos in them. The asbestos from those Navy ships killed my Uncle Sonny. I remember when he showed me his test results and asked me how long he had to live. I remember his last days, days when he told me about those Navy ships and joked about how the only beaches he saw in France were in Normandy.

I mourn all these great men I have lost too early. I am proud of the sacrifices they made for our country and I am proud of the legacy and lessons they left to me.

If you have any stories you would like to share of lost loved ones you have lost in service or due to service of our country, feel free to share them.

This weekend I honor you - Uncle Sonny, Granddad and Grandaddy. ❤️ I miss you all very much.

Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend. But don’t forget to honor those who this weekend honors.

05/21/2026

Looking for something fun to do this summer? Think about swim team at the Walton County YMCA

05/20/2026

I just have to give a shout out to Antionette. Today is her birthday and she has stepped up in a splendid way as my co office manager the past couple weeks. Tell her happy birthday if you see her!
Dr Hill

05/18/2026

Sadly - my 11 year old has decided she is a pr***en and we spent this past weekend cleaning out her toys. They grow up so fast.

But, it’s good news for our patients because starting tomorrow I’ll have all her lightly used stufties to give to our patients. Make sure to pick one up if you are in our office this week!

❤️ Dr Hill

05/15/2026

Today for Friday, I’m going to tell you a story I don’t talk about much to anyone, much less with patients. But, maybe I should.

When I had my first daughter I was 21, but I looked 16. I was a military wife with a husband in military flight school. Now, this was a long time ago, so I hope nothing like this happens to anyone anymore, but -

Many military wives used to have babies when they were very young. And they often would have 2-3 babies back to back, all while very young. The OBGYNs near the military bases were known to treat expectant mothers like children. When I went in to see my OBGYN he would pat me on the head and talk down to me, every visit.

I had been accepted to medical school already and had a college degree but he still talked to me like I was stupid. When I toured the hospital, the nurses told me that he gave versed and Va**um to moms when they were in labor - he claimed so they didn’t remember the pain. But the downside of that was that you also didn’t remember meeting your baby, or anything about the delivery.

I didn’t have any other option for an OBGYN. So, I tried to think of a way to “accidentally” go into labor in a nearby city so the military insurance would pay for it as an emergency. But, ultimately I was too poor and too afraid of being stuck with a bill I could I couldn’t afford to do this.

When one of my good friends had a baby, a couple months before me, and seemed amazed that she didn’t remember anything about the delivery, I knew I had to do something.

So, I called my mom. She is also a doctor but she was a family practice doctor who also was trained in delivering babies. Together we came up with a plan.

She came down and stayed with me a little bit before my due date and she delivered my daughter at home.

Yep. My older daughter was a drug free home birth.

And it all went well, except for one thing afterwards. The pediatrician I saw the week afterward with her called DFACS. Because of the home birth and because I hadn’t given vitamin K.

The truth is I didn’t even think about the vitamin K, and I guess my mom didn’t either. When she told me what could happen without it, especially with a breastfed baby.. the internal hemorrhaging that could happen I panicked. I was genuinely trying to do the best thing for me and my baby with this delivery. I didn’t think a man who was going to drug me up for amnesia of my delivery was the best thing. I was also a tiny bit suspicious to be honest. When my mom was in medical school sometimes male OBGYNs would do cruel things to the women when they were sedated or drugged up. What was so bad about a delivery that he needed me to forget it?

I went to the health department and got the Vitamin K shot. And, after a few weeks DFACS left me alone. But I still remember the sick feeling I had thinking someone could try to take my daughter away from me all because I tried to make the best choices with the options I had.

Health care is better now. I haven’t heard of horrible male OBGYNs like this in a long time. But, I hope that my experiences like this, my personal experiences can help me connect better with patients.

As I get older, I want to bring more transparency to medicine and the things we go through as moms and as women, not just say the things that quality scores or even government agencies want me to say. This is my new mission for this stage of my life. Come along with me as I figure out a way to do just that.

Dr Hill