Tongue-Tie and Breastfeeding Resource

I love being a tongue-tie and breastfeeding resource for my patients.

As a chiropractor trained in craniosacral work, I have the joy of helping support infants and babies with breastfeeding and latch complications such as tongue-tie.

Sometimes baby needs a little bodywork to be able to latch better. Other times there are bigger struggles such as tongue and lip-tie that can be contributing to complications with breastfeeding.

However, tongue and lip-tie issues can be corrected with a simple laser procedure. We are so lucky to have one of the leaders in treating tongue and lip-ties, Dr. Ghaheri, right here in Portland, OR.  To learn more about tongue-tie, check out this article by Dr. Ghaheri that is a great resource on tongue-tie and breastfeeding: Breastfeeding Improvement Following Tongue-Tie and Lip-Tie Release: A Prospective Cohort Study. The study shows that:

Surgical release of tongue-tie/lip-tie results in significant average improvement in maternal and infant breastfeeding outcome measures. Improvements occur early (1 week postoperatively) and continue to improve 1 month postoperatively. Improvements were demonstrated in both infants with classic anterior tongue-tie and less obvious posterior tongue-tie. Based on this finding, clinicians should identify posterior tongue-tie as a potential etiology of infant latch problems and reduced breastfeeding quality. This study identifies a previously under-recognized patient population that may benefit from surgical intervention if abnormal breastfeeding symptoms exist.

Breastfeeding struggles can be so draining physically and emotionally for you and your little one. If you are experiencing difficulties around feeding your baby there are many resources out there to help. You can make an appointment with myself to assess your baby and their latch. A lactation consultant or your pediatrician are also great places to start. You do not need to suffer to feed your little one.