In this episode Katie Oshita, RN, BSN, IBCLC and Mark Persaud, DDS discuss tongue tie both from a parent's and provider's perspective and how all of this led to Dr Persaud and his wife Amelia Persaud to create a multi-therapy office. The strategy here was to allow parents one location, one place to centralize care. More than that, this central design facilities provider communication and true learning from each other. Listen for more details about this groundbreaking tongue tie center of Atlanta.

Podcast Guest: Mark Persaud, DDS and his wife, Amelia OTR/L, IBCLC built their own specialty practice from the ground up almost three years ago, where they focus on tethered oral tissues (TOTs) and therapy under one roof. The focus and passion behind his practice is to educate parents and walk them through the TOTs release process in a way that he felt was lacking when he went through these issues as a parent himself. Both of his children exhibited multiple signs and symptoms of TOTs as infants, and despite exhausting consultations with different medical professionals, he felt that there was a missing piece of the puzzle in improving their issues. This sent him and his wife down the rabbit hole of airway focused dentistry and therapy. Through several continuing education courses and a practice that focuses only on TOTs and therapy, Dr. Persaud has a unique exposure that allows him to look beyond the lens of just performing frenectomies, but also understanding holistically, the importance of pre and post therapy rehabilitation and wound management, which he feels truly makes all the difference in providing patients with consistent and predictable results.

Dr. Persaud is from Queens, NY. He graduated from Meharry Medical College in 2017, and completed an AEGD through NYU-Lutheran in Atlanta, Georgia, where he and his family settled. Although he still loves New York (to visit), the hustle and traffic congestion of the big city life drives him bonkers. He is a homebody that enjoys time with his two kiddos and awesome wife. Aside from being an airway focused dentist, he finds himself becoming more into health and wellness, and would love to grow his airway focused practice into adding functional medicine in the upcoming years.

Podcast host: Katie Oshita, RN, BSN, IBCLC has over 22 years of experience working in Maternal-Infant Medicine. Katie is a telehealth lactation consultant believing that clients anywhere in the world deserve the best care possible for their needs. Being an expert on TOTs, Katie helps families everywhere navigate breastfeeding struggles, especially when related to tongue tie or low supply. Katie is also passionate about finding the root cause of symptoms, using Functional Medicine practices to help client not just survive, but truly thrive. Email katie@cuddlesandmilk.com or www.cuddlesandmilk.com

In this episode Katie Oshita, RN, BSN, IBCLC reviews a few recent case studies for tongue tie support. In one case the family reached out for support one month after a frenectomy that hadn't brought any changes. The other family reached out when the baby had completely refused the breast, at 7 weeks old, after needing to supplement for weight gain. Both families had seen many providers and not gotten a resolution of issues, or to an easy feeding result. Both families were frustrated and didn't know what else to try. Katie reviews her treatment plan and how working with other providers in tandem, mainly bodyworkers, can bring better results much faster than treating alone.

Katie also discusses what functional lactation and holistic care looks like in her practice. How oral function is important but doesn't exist in a vacuum. The dyad needs complete care, from milk supply to gut health, sleep solutions and mental health. Treating the dyad is about much more than breastfeeding, it's supporting the parent and child through all of their struggles and helping them reach their goals.

Podcast host: Katie Oshita, RN, BSN, IBCLC has over 22 years of experience working in Maternal-Infant Medicine. Katie is a telehealth lactation consultant believing that clients anywhere in the world deserve the best care possible for their needs. Being an expert on TOTs, Katie helps families everywhere navigate breastfeeding struggles, especially when related to tongue tie or low supply. Katie is also passionate about finding the root cause of symptoms, using Functional Medicine practices to help client not just survive, but truly thrive. Email katie@cuddlesandmilk.com or www.cuddlesandmilk.com

Both Katie Oshita and Liz Turner are working with tongue tie families trying to find support and function. Both Katie and Liz know the secret isn't in the release alone (Liz does a fabulous release tho, and it is an essential part of the process), it's about timing of release, teamwork and functional habilitation. So how do all these things go together and how does it work for families that aren't getting support, who are learning about tongue tie from Facebook groups? Listen to hear more about this process here.

Podcast Guest: Dr. Turner had been a general dentist for many years before discovering the link between oral restrictions, growth and development, and basically everything else in dentistry. Never in dental school or in practice did anyone talk about the tongue and the profound impact it has on the body. She is proud of her two babies ages 5 and 3 who have been her “why” in her journey of discovering oral restrictions, sleep, growth, and the impact that these three things have on the quality of life a human being can have. As a general restorative dentist with an airway focus, Dr. Turner has the opportunity to treat all ages, and in doing so is able to see the impact of untreated oral restrictions from womb to tomb. She specializes in cosmetic restorative dentistry with an airway focus always, as well as focusing on treatment of tethered oral tissues, interceptive orthodontic expansion, and preventive functional dentistry.

Podcast Host: Katie Oshita, RN, BSN, IBCLC has over 22 years of experience working in Maternal-Infant Medicine. Katie is a telehealth lactation consultant believing that clients anywhere in the world deserve the best care possible for their needs. Being an expert on TOTs, Katie helps families everywhere navigate breastfeeding struggles, especially when related to tongue tie or low supply. Katie is also passionate about finding the root cause of symptoms, using Functional Medicine practices to help client not just survive, but truly thrive. Email katie@cuddlesandmilk.com or www.cuddlesandmilk.com

Lactation typically is either a home visit where the IBCLC comes to the client, or an office visit where the client comes to the IBCLC. Holly Johnson saw a problem in her area where too many families lived rurally and choosing one location for an office wouldn't serve each community. So Holly came up with a unique idea of creating a mobile lactation clinic, meaning that Holly comes part of the way, and clients come part of the way. Listen to hear more about how a mobile clinic works for this military wife IBCLC and the communities she serves.

Podcast Guest: Holly Johnson is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) with a Bachelor of Science in Maternal Child Health and Human Lactation. Holly is currently working on her MPH at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Holly provides care remotely and with in her mobile lactation clinics to military families and communities in Southern Colorado. She has completed additional education in TOTs and oral habilitation. Holly Johnson and her mobile clinic, Lady Leche, will be relocating to Missouri summer 2023.

Holly is married to Heath Johnson, who has been in the Army since 2008. They have 3 daughters together, Amelia, Eleanora, and Fiona. Holly has breastfed all her children until they self-wean. She experienced many breastfeeding-related problems throughout her journey, which led her to pursue a career in lactation.

Podcast host: Katie Oshita, RN, BSN, IBCLC has over 22 years of experience working in Maternal-Infant Medicine. Katie is a telehealth lactation consultant believing that clients anywhere in the world deserve the best care possible for their needs. Being an expert on TOTs, Katie helps families everywhere navigate breastfeeding struggles, especially when related to tongue tie or low supply. Katie is also passionate about finding the root cause of symptoms, using Functional Medicine practices to help client not just survive, but truly thrive. Email katie@cuddlesandmilk.com or www.cuddlesandmilk.com

In this episode Katie Oshita and Sharon Vallone discuss how lactation and chiropractic are essential for the treatment and support of tongue tied babies. Both professions support the whole person, going beyond symptoms and looking for the root cause of issues. Both professions help families struggling independently, but when working together, lactation and chiropractic have the ability to tremendously change the trajectory of a baby and family's life. Through collaboration lactation and chiropractic professionals are able to co treat by each seeing the patient through a different lens, and the results are magical. Listen here for more.

Podcast Guest: Sharon Vallone, DC (doctor of chiropractic), FICCP (Fellow in Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics). Dr. Sharon A. Vallone is a graduate of Rutgers University and New York Chiropractic College She completed her Diplomate in Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics at Palmer Chiropractic College and received her appointment as Fellow in Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics. Dr. Vallone has a private in Connecticut and is currently the Chair of the Board of Kentuckiana Children’s Center in Louisville, KY and past Vice Chair of the International Chiropractic Association’s Council Pediatric Council. She is an international speaker, author, and editor of the Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics. Sharon brings 36 years of pediatric chiropractic experience with a primary interest in pregnant and postpartum mommas, birth trauma, breastfeeding difficulties and problems with infant /toddler neurodevelopment.

Podcast host: Katie Oshita, RN, BSN, IBCLC has over 22 years of experience working in Maternal-Infant Medicine. Katie is a telehealth lactation consultant believing that clients anywhere in the world deserve the best care possible for their needs. Being an expert on TOTs, Katie helps families everywhere navigate breastfeeding struggles, especially when related to tongue tie or low supply. Katie is also passionate about finding the root cause of symptoms, using Functional Medicine practices to help client not just survive, but truly thrive. Email katie@cuddlesandmilk.com or www.cuddlesandmilk.com

Tongue ties are on the rise, some evidence says 25-33% of babies have an oral restriction, and these families need help. In Olympia, they have a talented Pediatric Dentist at Olympia Untied with Dr Andrea Mason. In this episode, Katie Oshita and Dr Andrea Mason discuss the necessity of a team approach and how working together helps families thrive. If you have been wondering about team building for tongue tie practices, listen today.

Podcast guest: A native of Olympia, Dr. Andrea Mason was introduced to dentistry at an early age. Her father, Dr. Jack Cox, practiced dentistry for over 30 years in Lacey, where Dr. Mason helped as an assistant during summers growing up. Dr. Mason completed her undergraduate studies at Pacific Lutheran University, where she received a Bachelor of Science in biology and minored in chemistry and studio art. She received her Doctor of Dental Surgery degree with high honors from the University of Washington. While there, she founded and directed the University of Washington Pediatric Dental Society and served as a Teaching Assistant for the Department of Pediatric Dentistry. Her research has been published in the Journal of the American Dental Association and the Journal of Anesthesia Progress. While in school, she received numerous awards including the Most Distinguished Scholar Award from the Department of Pediatric Dentistry and the Ralph E. McDonald Scholar Award for her outstanding performance during residency.

After her time at the University of Washington, Dr. Mason went on to receive a Master of Science in dentistry and a Certificate in pediatric dentistry with a minor in psychology from Indiana University/Riley Children’s Hospital. She is a board-certified diplomate of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry, a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, and a member many organizations.

Dr. Mason and her husband, Hans, have two beautiful daughters, Violet and Piper. The office therapy dog, Sugar, and her brother, Sammy, also live with the family. Together their family enjoys snowboarding, camping, and spending time on the water. In her free time, Dr. Mason also loves art, especially working on ceramics at the potter’s wheel. Dr. Mason enjoys all aspects of pediatric dentistry; her passion is laser lip and tongue-tie revisions for infants and children of all ages.

Podcast host: Katie Oshita, RN, BSN, IBCLC has over 22 years of experience working in Maternal-Infant Medicine. Katie is a telehealth lactation consultant believing that clients anywhere in the world deserve the best care possible for their needs. Being an expert on TOTs, Katie helps families everywhere navigate breastfeeding struggles, especially when related to tongue tie or low supply. Katie is also passionate about finding the root cause of symptoms, using Functional Medicine practices to help client not just survive, but truly thrive. Email katie@cuddlesandmilk.com or www.cuddlesandmilk.com

In this episode Katie Oshita discusses how much of medicine in the Allopathic system is a band-aid model and treats everyone the same. If you go in for depression, they go to the same antidepressants regardless of who you are, they just go down a list. This method ignores the fact that there are many different causes for any issue, such as depression- low vitamin D, low Omega 3's, MTHFR, and so many more. Katie discusses how Functional Medicine is not about the disease but the root cause, the cellular function that is impaired, and the individual person. Katie also discusses how this relates to lactation- that instead of starting formula on a baby not gaining well at the breast, Katie discusses how finding the root cause, whether it's maternal hormone/supply related, baby tongue tie related or anything else is how to truly address issues and find wellness.

Podcast host: Katie Oshita, RN, BSN, IBCLC has over 22 years of experience working in Maternal-Infant Medicine. Katie is a telehealth lactation consultant believing that clients anywhere in the world deserve the best care possible for their needs. Being an expert on TOTs, Katie helps families everywhere navigate breastfeeding struggles, especially when related to tongue tie or low supply. Katie is also passionate about finding the root cause of symptoms, using Functional Medicine practices to help client not just survive, but truly thrive. Email katie@cuddlesandmilk.com or www.cuddlesandmilk.com

Katie Oshita and Diana Leon knew each other when they were both in the CA Bay Area, before Katie took to the RV life and Diana moved to Denver. In the early days, Katie and her family were blessed to see Dr Diana each week for adjustments and to help their body feel its best. In this episode, Katie and Diana talk about all think chiropractic for babies- both as a wellness practice as and a healing option. Since both providers work with a lot of tongue tied babies, they both see the same thing, but from different sides. Listen in as they discuss how to help families thrive.

Podcast Guest: As a lifelong athlete, she always had an interest in the human body and sports performance, particularly after sustaining a significant knee injury while playing lacrosse. During that rehabilitation, she learned how chiropractic care could positively influence her body's ability to heal.

She attended Sonoma State University and received her undergraduate degree in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Exercise Science. She went on to graduate magna cum laude from Life Chiropractic College West with honors in Clinical Excellence.

After graduating from chiropractic school, her interest in perinatal and pediatric care soon developed into a true passion. Facilitating impactful and positive change through chiropractic care was a gift she never wanted to stop giving!

She had the amazing opportunity in her first 4 years of practice to work for a few of the leading perinatal and pediatric chiropractic experts in the California Bay Area before deciding to move to Denver where Dr Leon opened CalmBody Chiropractic Club. She has advanced and extensive perinatal and pediatric training in addition to her chiropractic education in order to provide the expert advice and care you and your family deserve.

She now lives in Denver with her soon-to-be wife, Claire, where they enjoy the mountains, live music, and spending time with their family and friends. They hope to start their own family soon, where chiropractic care will be an essential part of that journey.

Podcast host: Katie Oshita, RN, BSN, IBCLC has over 22 years of experience working in Maternal-Infant Medicine. Katie is a telehealth lactation consultant believing that clients anywhere in the world deserve the best care possible for their needs. Being an expert on TOTs, Katie helps families everywhere navigate breastfeeding struggles, especially when related to tongue tie or low supply. Katie is also passionate about finding the root cause of symptoms, using Functional Medicine practices to help client not just survive, but truly thrive. Email katie@cuddlesandmilk.com or www.cuddlesandmilk.com

In this episode, Katie Oshita and Montika Collins discuss the importance of representation in health care, and what it means to be an activist. Montika Collins is passionate about not only supporting women of color, but also training women of color in order to increase the support for families in Tulsa. Montika also discusses food deserts, the importance of good nutrition and how using herbs can be healing. Montika's goal is to become a midwife, but for now she is the only black IBCLC in Oklahoma, opening a birth center for women of color and works hard to create the world she wishes to see.

Podcast Guest: Montika Collins, MA, BS, BSN, RN, CLC, IBCLCMontika serves as an Advanced Holistic Lactation Consultant at Innovations Lactation and Breastfeeding, an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), a Holistic Integrative nurse, Health and Wellness Coach, Body Worker, Medical Herbalist, and nursing faculty at Oral Roberts University.

As an activist, she served Oklahoma’s breastfeeding coalition, COBA (Coalition of Oklahoma Breastfeeding Advocates) as chair & board member. Her passion for the health and well-being of minority women and children led her to co-found the 501(c)3, nonprofit organization, Innovations Family Wellness INC. She serves her community as the Co-President & CEO of Innovations Family Wellness INC.

Montika graduated from Maryland University of Integrative Health with a Master of Arts (MA) in Health and Wellness Coaching and a concentration in Medical Herbalism. She also earned a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Biology and Chemistry from Northeastern State University. Montika graduated Magna Cum Laude from Oral Roberts University with a Bachelor of Science (BSN) in Nursing. She has over 300 hours in continuing education courses specific to the care of the mother/baby dyad.

In addition to teaching nursing students, she also trains healthcare professionals on how to utilize and integrate alternative healthcare practices into their medical practices. She also holds group training and seminars for various perinatal providers. Montika serves local women, breastfeeding mothers, and their infants providing them with health & wellness coaching, herbal support, bodywork, and advanced holistic lactation & breastfeeding support.

Podcast host: Katie Oshita, RN, BSN, IBCLC has over 22 years of experience working in Maternal-Infant Medicine. Katie is a telehealth lactation consultant believing that clients anywhere in the world deserve the best care possible for their needs. Being an expert on TOTs, Katie helps families everywhere navigate breastfeeding struggles, especially tongue tie and gut/allergy related issues. Email katie@cuddlesandmilk.com or www.cuddlesandmilk.com

Timing of release isn't just a catch phrase, it's the MOST important part of deciding when to have a tongue tie release. Katie Oshita and Dr Gary Myers discuss how he started doing releases (spoiler alert: he was pushed into this space by Jennifer Tow), how his practice grew (crunchy mom referrals at first then eventually got some Pediatrician referrals). Dr Gary talks about what he usually sees with clients, how different babies are from adults and how there isn't 1 right way for everyone. Dr Gary also focuses on what he calls the 3 T's:

Tethers- anatomy- his job

Tension- bodywork space

Technique- Lactation space

Listen here for all the details from Katie and Dr Gary.

Podcast Guest: Dr. Gary Myers is a pediatric dentist in the Jacksonville, FL area. He graduated residency in 2001 from MCV in Richmond, VA. He currently lives in Middleburg, FL with his wife, 5 kids, and 2 dogs. He was introduced, recruited, and educated to the world of helping babies achieve proper latch and functional breastfeeding in 2012 by one of the most wonderful IBCLC’s around, Jennifer Tow. This was back when the Tongue Tie Support Group on FB had less than 1000 members! He is holistic minded and always looking for novel ways to improve the oral and overall health of his patients and their families.

Podcast host: Katie Oshita, RN, BSN, IBCLC has over 22 years of experience working in Maternal-Infant Medicine. Katie is a telehealth lactation consultant believing that clients anywhere in the world deserve the best care possible for their needs. Being an expert on TOTs, Katie helps families everywhere navigate breastfeeding struggles, especially tongue tie and gut/allergy related issues. Email katie@cuddlesandmilk.com or www.cuddlesandmilk.com

Recently Katie Oshita at the age of 44 years old had a functional frenuplasty with Dr Maggie Davis. Katie had already done a lot of prep work (listen back to episode 33 for some of her symptoms and pre release therapy) but was still surprised with some of the unexpected outcomes of her release. Listen as Katie Oshita and Dr Maggie discuss Katie's release and much more about timing of release and adult vs baby releases.

Podcast Guest: Dr Maggie Davis is a Pediatric dentist and also owns Florida Tongue Tie in Palm Harbor. Her training and expertise are guided by her personal experience with her own son's tongue ties being missed. Due to that, Dr Maggie has created the Florida Tongue Tie center in order for multi-discipline specialities to be able to collaborate for best possible outcomes for all TOTs kids.

Podcast host: Katie Oshita, RN, BSN, IBCLC has over 22 years of experience working in Maternal-Infant Medicine. Katie is a telehealth lactation consultant believing that clients anywhere in the world deserve the best care possible for their needs. Being an expert on TOTs, Katie helps families everywhere navigate breastfeeding struggles, especially tongue tie and gut/allergy related issues. Email katie@cuddlesandmilk.com or www.cuddlesandmilk.com

Katie Oshita and McKale Fleming were both IBCLC's traveling the country in an RV. McKale has an integrative health coaching lactation practice with bodywork and traveled all over the south bringing expert care to families in need. Listen as they discuss the importance of bodywork and its many different methods, and how the team supports tongue tie families.

Podcast Guest: McKale is a board-certified lactation consultant, massage therapist and integrative health coach. Transitioning from a traditional office to a traveling business, McKale & her family traveled all over Georgia and Florida helping families with clinical lactation and structural integration. Recently settling in Atlanta, McKale continues to support families in a unique way through bodywork, family wellness, and infant feeding. She is a Mom to two boys; their breastfeeding journey created a compassionate foundation for her lactation career.

Podcast Host: Katie Oshita, RN, BSN, IBCLC has over 22 years of experience working in Maternal-Infant Medicine. Katie is a telehealth lactation consultant believing that clients anywhere in the world deserve the best care possible for their needs. Being an expert on TOTs, Katie helps families everywhere navigate breastfeeding struggles, especially tongue tie and gut/allergy related issues. Email katie@cuddlesandmilk.com or www.cuddlesandmilk.com

In this episode, Katie Oshita discusses the all important phrase of "timing of release" and what it means. Why does it matter when the tongue tie release is done? What is meant by pre-release and post-release therapy? What is the difference between active wound care and oral exercises or oral habilitation? And rhythmic movements? Listen as Katie addresses these and deciding on her own timing of release when getting a functional frenuplasty as an adult (at 44 years old). If you have wondered what happens while "waiting" for a tongue tie release then this episode is for you.

Podcast Host: Katie Oshita, RN, BSN, IBCLC has over 22 years of experience working in Maternal-Infant Medicine. Katie is a telehealth lactation consultant believing that clients anywhere in the world deserve the best care possible for their needs. Being an expert on TOTs, Katie helps families everywhere navigate breastfeeding struggles, especially tongue tie and gut/allergy related issues. Email katie@cuddlesandmilk.com or www.cuddlesandmilk.com

In this podcast episode, Katie Oshita and Avery young discuss the blinding focus on tongue tie and oral function that is leaving many families in worse shape after support. First by not know know to immediately stop breastfeeding pain, too many families are rushed to release by providers- Avery Young strives to change this by teaching other IBCLC's all about how to engage baby's feeding reflexes for a deeper, pain-free latch. Then many families are still treated in this mono-focused way with other providers who support oral function, but know nothing about how to see and care for a dyad. Avery Young has created a visual to try and bring awareness to the importance of prioritizing parental and infant wellness and breastfeeding relationship above oral function. Listen as this and much more is discussed.

Podcast Guest: Avery Young is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant licensed by the state of Georgia who is on a mission to help change the way we latch and feed infants. She has master's degrees in both Biology and Science Education and has been in private practice as a lactation consultant since 2014.

She spent the first half of her career teaching Biology to anyone who would listen, from middle school through college. She began her practice as a lactation consultant in 2014, after the birth of her second child, with the goal of helping to empower families with the resources and confidence to make decisions that were right for their own families.

Her own journey into motherhood and her quest to understand the needs of her own neurodiverse family led her to a deeper study of infant reflexes, neurology, and brain plasticity. It was during this study that Avery began to understand the significance of reflexes and she began to observe and learn from babies during the latching and feeding process.

She began to notice that babies have a highly repetitive and predictable sequence of behaviors that occur during the latching process. She quickly realized that those sequences of behaviors - which she calls the Cascade of Feeding Reflexes - have a far bigger role than just helping an infant to latch. They also establish the foundation of movement.

By helping infants engage their feeding reflexes she believes we can change the developmental trajectory of an infant for the rest of their life, and her mission is to help everyone understand what those reflexes are, and how we can use them to make feeding better.

When she is not working, or researching answers to her own questions, Avery enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time in nature with her husband and three children, in their hometown of Atlanta, Georgia.

Podcast Host: Katie Oshita, RN, BSN, IBCLC has over 22 years of experience working in Maternal-Infant Medicine. Katie is a telehealth lactation consultant believing that clients anywhere in the world deserve the best care possible for their needs. Being an expert on TOTs, Katie helps families everywhere navigate breastfeeding struggles, especially tongue tie and gut/allergy related issues. Email katie@cuddlesandmilk.com or www.cuddlesandmilk.com

Telehealth is all the rage now since Covid, but there are practitioners who have been using telehealth for much longer. Jennifer Tow, BFS, MA, IBCLC, LMT, CSOM has been seeing clients across the globe for more than a decade, using video visits as a way to bring expert care to families anywhere. Jennifer is also the creator of the IBCLC Master Class, taught in a team with other providers. Jennifers knowledge goes way beyond lactation, but understands and supports a state of wellness for parents and their babies. Katie Oshita and Jennifer discuss how the current state of hyperawareness on oral function is actually harming families, causing them to lose the breastfeeding relationship in favor of oral function. Listen in as this and much more is discussed.

Podcast guest: Jennifer Tow, BFA, MA, IBCLC, LMT, CSOM has practiced holistic lactation and guided parents in raising their children holistically for over 25 years. A fascination with the physiology of wellness has led her on a 30-year journey exploring the influences on infant health that come to define long-term human well-being. Her interests are focused in the areas of epigenetics and the microbiome, gut-brain health, airway function and oral functional competency, exploring the profoundly far-reaching implications of this work for breastfeeding dyads.

While residing between the USA & France, Jennifer established an international client base and now sees most of her clients on-line, specializing in collaborating with her clients in resolving complex breastfeeding issues. With a Master's in Holistic Health Coaching, her reputation for guiding parents through these issues stems from her ability to integrate holistic modalities and an expanded skill-set, such as myofunctional therapy and craniosacral fascial therapy, into her practice.

She is a writer and lecturer, offering workshops internationally and via webinar on breastfeeding & epigenetics, gut health & healing, tongue-tie & airway development and holistic breastfeeding practices. After a decade in development, she now offers a year-long advanced course in Integrative and Holistic Lactation. She is a founding member of IATP (the International Affiliation of Tongue-tie Professionals) and is the Breastfeeding Section Leader of the AAPMD (American Academy of Physiological Medicine and Dentistry) and founder of the Holistic Lactation Institute. Jennifer is the mother of three children born at home in 1988, 1992 and 1998 and a granddaughter born at home in 2009. Contact: IBCLCMasterClass@gmail.com or online at holisticibclc.blogspot.com

Podcast host: Katie Oshita, RN, BSN, IBCLC has over 22 years of experience working in Maternal-Infant Medicine. Katie is a telehealth lactation consultant believing that clients anywhere in the world deserve the best care possible for their needs. Being an expert on TOTs, Katie helps families everywhere navigate breastfeeding struggles, especially tongue tie and gut/allergy related issues. Email katie@cuddlesandmilk.com or www.cuddlesandmilk.com

Katie Oshita and Bryna Hayden discuss how Bryna got started working with infant reflexes, why understanding and working with reflexes is important and how every IBCLC should start learning more and observing babies reflexes. Bryna has a deep science background, uses that to study neurobehavior and babies. They discuss how a hyper focus on problems, such as tongue tie and oral function, is clouding the field, covering up what IBCLC's are there to do- help the dyad (or triad) thrive.

Podcast Guest: Bryna is a neurodivergent and queer IBCLC, adult educator, birth doula, mentor, and private practice owner. They have also sought additional training and continuing education in the areas of oral function and infant feeding, Rhythmic Movement Training (RMT), primitive reflexes and brain development in infants, cultural congruency, trauma-informed care, harm-reduction approaches to clinical care, and other counseling strategies for client-facing care. Inclusivity and accessibility are central values that Bryna hold as they approach their work. Bryna also recognizes that their background as a white person in the United States places them in a position of privilege, and they work to be cognizant of how that lens impacts their work. When not working, Bryna can be found staring up at huge trees in awe or inhaling the salty air at the coast in the Pacific Northwest where they live with their children, partner, and dogs.

Podcast host: Katie Oshita, RN, BSN, IBCLC has over 22 years of experience working in Maternal-Infant Medicine. Katie is a telehealth lactation consultant believing that clients anywhere in the world deserve the best care possible for their needs. Being an expert on TOTs, Katie helps families everywhere navigate breastfeeding struggles, especially tongue tie and gut/allergy related issues. Email katie@cuddlesandmilk.com or www.cuddlesandmilk.com

Philadelphia just got a great new pediatric dental practice, Philadelphia Pediatric Dentistry with Dr Maria Cordero-Ricardo. As an experienced and patient teacher, Dr Maria spent the last 10 years in academia teaching and guiding dental students in all the ways of infant oral health and tongue tie. Now that she is in private practice, Dr Maria is passionate about her office being a calm environment for all (low sensory, calm lighting, great spots for parents to sit and very calming presence). Infant oral health, and habits that parents can adopt before the child turns 3 are rarely discussed, but in her office it's a priority for Dr Maria. She knows an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, for oral health and tongue tie! Listen as Katie Oshita and Dr Maria discuss this and more in Ep 35.

Podcast guest: As a mom, pediatric dentist, biomedical engineer, and dental school faculty, Dr. Maria offers families a uniquely tailored approach to children's dental care. She earned her Doctor of Medicine in Dentistry degree at the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine. She went on to complete her specialized Pediatric Dentistry Residency at The Ohio State University and Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

She is a board-certified pediatric dentist with a deep commitment to promoting children’s oral health through nutrition, wellness, prevention, and a focus that includes lactation and infant oral health support. Dr. Maria has extensive pediatric experience in treating children of all ages and has taught hundreds of dental students and residents over the last decade.

Beyond serving families, Dr. Maria describes herself as “a joyful wife and mother of 2 living in the Art Museum neighborhood of Philadelphia. I feel gratitude for living in Philadelphia today and love exploring the museums and green spaces with my family and neighbors.”

Podcast host: Katie Oshita, RN, BSN, IBCLC has over 22 years of experience working in Maternal-Infant Medicine. Katie is a telehealth lactation consultant believing that clients anywhere in the world deserve the best care possible for their needs. Being an expert on TOTs, Katie helps families everywhere navigate breastfeeding struggles, especially tongue tie and gut/allergy related issues. Email katie@cuddlesandmilk.com or www.cuddlesandmilk.com

All mammals breathe air, all mammals give live birth. All mammals breastfeed their young. Humans are mammals, even tho we tend to forget it. Breastfeeding should be easy (cats don't worry about breastfeeding). Katie Oshita and Shaz Tayebi talk about how remembering that we are mammals can deeply change and impact our breastfeeding practices.

Podcast guest: Shaz Tayebi, IBCLC, brings her midwifery experience from Iran to her lactation career in Canada. She noticed there were much more breastfeeding challenges in her practice in Canada compared to rural areas of Iran, where they trust babies more than books, apps, instructions, etc. That’s why she created the documentary “We’re Mammals”!

“We’re Mammals” helps parents and healthcare providers understand newborn’s innate feeding behaviors, acknowledge that the mammalian approach to breastfeeding is a failproof method (the reason we are not extinct) and identify barriers to trusting baby’s instincts.

As a mother of two, one having special needs, she has first hand experience in what a normal breastfeeding journey looks like. She’s also a craniosacral therapist, a gentle form of body work, which she originally learned for her son and is now corporating it in helping families too. She mentors doulas and lactation consultants as well.

Podcast host: Katie Oshita, RN, BSN, IBCLC has over 22 years of experience working in Maternal-Infant Medicine. Katie is a telehealth lactation consultant believing that clients anywhere in the world deserve the best care possible for their needs. Being an expert on TOTs, Katie helps families everywhere navigate breastfeeding struggles, especially tongue tie and gut/allergy related issues. Email katie@cuddlesandmilk.com or www.cuddlesandmilk.com

In this episode, the host Katie Oshita, BSN, RN, IBCLC discusses her tongue tie symptoms and how this is affecting her treatment plan. Tongue tie symptoms are generally pretty similar in babies and breast/chest feeding parents, but when the tongue tie goes untreated for years, and even decades, there is a wider variety of symptoms that can happen. Katie also discusses her treatment plan that will include working with previous podcast guests Dr Maggie Davis from Florida Tongue Tie Center and Kendra LaGrande from Thrive Myofascial Release.

Podcast host: Katie Oshita, RN, BSN, IBCLC has over 22 years of experience working in Maternal-Infant Medicine. Katie is a telehealth lactation consultant believing that clients anywhere in the world deserve the best care possible for their needs. Being an expert on TOTs, Katie helps families everywhere navigate breastfeeding struggles, especially tongue tie and gut/allergy related issues. Email katie@cuddlesandmilk.com or www.cuddlesandmilk.com

Myofascial release therapy is wonderful and not frequently understood or widely available. Katie and Kendra discuss how myofascial works on the body, what treatments are like and who can benefit from this form of bodywork. Kendra has also been the bodyworker for Katie's children before and after their releases. When Katie started her myofascial release therapy with Kendra she experienced a healing crisis, and they discuss how this can happen based on trauma, immune issues, gut dysbosis, and scar tissue.

Podcast Guest: Kendra LaGrande is passionate about the effectiveness of John Barnes Myofascial Release as it has been immensely beneficial in her healing journey. This holistic form of authentic healing has helped her the most achieve lasting results to alleviate chronic pain. She has been exclusively practicing Myofascial Release for 8 years and using her many years of experience as a PT to assist all ages- infants to the elderly. She is an expert level Myofascial Release therapist and assistant for John Barnes’ Myofascial Release Seminars.

Kendra has been a Physical Therapist for 24 years and specialized in the area of pediatrics for over 16 years. She has worked in numerous pediatric settings including outpatient clinics, a preschool, All Children's Hospital, a hippotherapy program, and a center for medically fragile children. She is NDT (Neurodevelopmental Treatment) certified in the Treatment of Children with Cerebral Palsy and other Neuromotor Disorders. She is also trained in Craniosacral Facial Therapy- The Gillespie Approach and has taken numerous courses on Tethered Oral Tissues, including through the Breathe Institute. Kendra graduated with a Masters in Business Administration from Nova Southeastern University in 2002, and the University of Central Florida with a Bachelors of Science in Physical Therapy in 1998 and a Bachelors of Science in Health Services Administration in 1996.

Podcast host: Katie Oshita, RN, BSN, IBCLC has over 22 years of experience working in Maternal-Infant Medicine. Katie is a telehealth lactation consultant believing that clients anywhere in the world deserve the best care possible for their needs. Being an expert on TOTs, Katie helps families everywhere navigate breastfeeding struggles, especially tongue tie and gut/allergy related issues. Email katie@cuddlesandmilk.com or www.cuddlesandmilk.com