Meet Megan Stilwill, DO

Get to know Dr. Megan Stilwill and read through our recent Q/A where she shares about her role at Table Health and some areas of her personal and professional life.

Q. What is your area of expertise?
A. Infant and pediatric development, pediatric osteopathic medicine, childhood adversity and trauma integration, developmental disabilities and neurodivergence- ie ADHD, autism, sensory integration disorders.

Q. What is your role at Table Health?
A. Primary care pediatrician, craniosacral therapy for children and adults, osteopathic manual medicine adjustments for children and adults.

Q. What are some of the symptoms you commonly treat?
A. I commonly treat a wide range of symptoms in infants and children. These often include acute symptoms such as fever, cough, runny nose, sore throat, ear pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and rashes. I also address symptoms related to chronic conditions like persistent coughing and wheezing (asthma), recurrent constipation, difficulty with bladder control (bedwetting), and various musculoskeletal pains. Furthermore, we help with symptoms indicative of developmental concerns or divergences, and provide support for tension-related challenges manifest as infant feeding difficulties or other musculoskeletal complaints.

Q. What does a typical visit look like with you?
A. I deeply value trusted relationships and develop rapport over time. As we tend to the primary concern, there is attunement and attention to help provide ease for the child and parent. Physical exams are usually assisted with stuffed animals or common child life supports to facilitate developmental anxieties at the doctor’s office. There is always an offering of education regarding examination and procedures. I have a strong value in patient autonomy and consent, even when working with infants and children.

Q. How do you treat and care for your patients?
A. My approach to healthcare is very holistic, taking into account the mind, body and spirit of the individual. I have a strong belief that value based, individualized care can shape wellness over the course of a person’s life and I work to uphold these values in my day to day practice. Additionally, I have a knowledge base and awareness of many neurodevelopmental and neurobehavioral characteristics, as I have worked with pediatric populations in general and special education classrooms, performed childhood trauma assessments through Child and Family Services, and parenting children with neurodivergence.

Q. What makes your approach to health different?
A. I have a holistic approach that focuses on the whole person – mind, body, and spirit. While I have the medical training, each individual knows their own body best and there is no one-size fit all approach. Everyone has different values, expectations and experiences that they bring to every aspect of their life, health and wellness included.

Q. What health trends excite you the most?
A. The health care trend that excites me the most is the role of nutrition in wellness. Additionally, how the digital world is impacting child brain development and the impact on the body as as a whole.

Q. Who do you follow in the medical, health/wellness community? Why?
A. In the wellness community I follow Dr. Lawrence Rosen and Dr. Elisa Song, who work to find natural and alternative solutions for children’s ailments, knowing the child’s body is born very sensitive to many of the things that modern medicine has to offer. I follow Dr. Viola Frymann, a visionary osteopath who dedicated her life to children’s wellness through osteopathy. I follow Dr. Dan Siegel, Dr. Tina Payne Bryson, and Dr. Mona Delahook, who study children’s mental and emotional wellbeing.

Q. How do you spend your free time?
A. I spend my free time adventuring outdoors, running, practicing yoga, cooking, making pottery, and spending time with my family and friends. I am a mother to three very active children, so we spend a lot of time as a family finding ways to move our bodies through fitness and nature.

Q. Who inspires you?
A. I feel deeply inspired by innovative thinkers and people who see things out of the box. People who innovate and develop new solutions to problems and who are unafraid to dissent popular opinion in order to do what is right. Dr. Gabor Mate, Dr. Rob Anda, Dr. Bruce Perry, Dr. Dan Siegel, Dr. Mona Delahook, Dr. Casey Means, Dr. Viola Frymann are all professionals who stepped outside of their comfort zone to state observations, gain awareness and provide extraordinary care in ways that challenged the professions standards at the time.

Q. What book did you last read?
A. The last book I read was the Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley

Q. What do you love about the Traverse City area?
A. The natural beauty that surrounds us. Our drives to work are not limited to city scapes. We have four seasons of beautiful nature and access to sanctuaries and reprieve from the fast paced world right in our backyard.

Q. Why did you choose this profession?
A. I chose this profession because I have a profound love for the human body, mind and spirit. I am truly awed and inspired by what we are capable of achieving and overcoming as human beings. With the proper support and balance, we are able to overcome tremendous obstacles and help others along the way.