Breastfeeding / Chestfeeding Parents.

We work closely with the lactation teams in the area hospitals as well as private IBCLCs to help get your breastfeeding as optimal as possible.

Looking for a referral to a qualified IBCLC? Shoot us an email and we will send you a list of providers that can help you along your journey.

BREASTFEEDING

Breastfeeding provides the best, most convenient, most cost-effective, most nutritious meal that your baby needs. And, beyond nutrition, it is the natural trainer of optimal tongue function and posture as well as the developer of the upper jaw and dental arches. The longer one can breastfeed, the more optimal it is for your baby. And, if you cannot or choose not to breastfeed, we support your decision.

Breastfeeding should not hurt. If it does, this is not your fault.

Our healthcare system is not set up well to help get breastfeeding to a good start. There is minimal discussion of what breastfeeding should look like or feel like. There is no recommendation for an IBCLC evaluation/session at 5-7 days post-birth. There should be breastfeeding well-checks! And, there should be an oral assessment early on to determine if the baby has tethered oral tissues. There should be a discussion of which type of pacifier is best for the baby, which bottle works best, when to take the pacifier away, etc.

Why is there limited advice and recommendations? Physicians receive minimal breastfeeding education and minimal oral anatomy and oral function education.  If you are receiving conflicting information between the pediatrician and lactation experts, please get your child evaluated by an infant tongue-tie specialist at AirSync Integrative Dentistry.  Listen to the tongue-tie and breastfeeding experts and trust your maternal, paternal, and parental instinct.

Breastfeeding Support

Breastfeeding is often not the beautiful experience that most parents dream it will be. It often is a journey filled with peaks and valleys, and one that can end up requiring a team of experts to support and nurture the process along the way.

Many parents experience issues with breastfeeding due to latching problems (from tethered oral tissues), poor oral function, uncoordinated reflexes if baby was premature or labor was traumatic and many times these critical issues are undiagnosed. Dysfunctional feeding (breast or bottle) leads to things like poor weight gain, underfed/very sleepy infants, the need to supplement with formula, failure to thrive, reflux, colic, sleepless nights, and more. For mom, it can present in things like problems keeping baby on the breast, a poor latch, baby falling asleep at the breast, milk blebs, pain, clogged ducts, mastitis, STRESS and more. There is a direct correlation between the breastfeeding parent’s cortisol levels and the ability to make milk.

Diagnosing a tongue-tie is not as simple as a quick look in the mouth or baby’s ability to stick the tongue out. There are many factors that go into the assessment of oral restrictions. A qualified provider should do a full, proper evaluation to determine if there are ties that need treatment.

At AirSync Integrative Dentistry, we believe in treating the human, not just the ties or the symptoms. That said, the AirSync process is about gaining optimal oral function, feeding, structure, breathing, sleep. Surgery is but one part of this process, creating new habits and function are the keys to success. And, long-term follow-up for optimal structure, function, and behavior with The Littles Initiative, is truly the key to long-term success!

Ready to have an evaluation? Reach out! We would love to support you along your journey.