{"id":2081,"date":"2017-08-01T19:57:26","date_gmt":"2017-08-02T00:57:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.osfhealthcare.org\/blog\/?p=2081"},"modified":"2018-05-25T10:22:48","modified_gmt":"2018-05-25T15:22:48","slug":"simple-procedure-helps-breastfeeding-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/simple-procedure-helps-breastfeeding-journey\/","title":{"rendered":"Simple procedure helps breastfeeding journey"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Breastfeeding is a natural thing. But it doesn\u2019t always come naturally.<\/p>\n

When Christina Dennis gave birth to her youngest, Jackson, he struggled to latch at the hospital. They\u00a0continued to try at home \u2026 and continued to struggle.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was starting to get really painful for me,\u201d said Christina.<\/p>\n

A friend suggested she talk to Sarah Musselman, a lactation consultant at OSF HealthCare St. Joseph Medical Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sarah walked Christina through some breastfeeding tips, but she also spied what could be a larger issue. She suggested Christina go see a pediatric dentist to check if Jackson had what is called a lip tie.<\/p>\n

A lip tie is when the frenulum, a small piece of skin that attaches your gums to your upper lip, is too tight or causing restriction. A lip tie is often accompanied by a tongue tie, which is when the frenulum that attaches your tongue to the bottom of your mouth is negatively affecting breastfeeding.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen a baby has a tongue or lip tie, they suck more like you suck through a straw,\u201d said Sarah. \u201cIt can really impact the way a baby gets milk, and it can be extremely painful for a mom.”<\/p>\n

In addition to affecting breastfeeding, a lip or tongue tie can potentially have an impact on several things, including speech or the baby\u2019s ability to swallow solid foods. It can even cause tooth decay, said Sarah.<\/p>\n

A quick procedure<\/h2>\n

Christina had heard of lip and tongue ties before, but was skeptical of the treatment \u2013 using a laser or scissors to \u201csnip\u201d the frenulum.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seemed kind of crazy to me \u2013 taking a laser to the inside of a baby\u2019s mouth!\u201d said Christina. But after listening to a pediatric dentist present at the Baby Expo in Bloomington, she was comforted.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe said he performed it to his own daughter, which was reassuring,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Jackson was diagnosed with a lip tie and visited a pediatric dentist for revision.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was super scared, but at the same time, I knew there was no anesthetic, so it was a little less scary,\u201d said Christina.<\/p>\n

The procedure went quickly, with Christina back in the room and being encouraged to breastfeed Jackson within minutes.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe cried for a few minutes and was fussy that day,\u201d said Christina. \u201cBut it wasn\u2019t really anything more than an infant with a cold.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thanks to the revision, as well as coaching from Sarah Musselman and the support of the Moms of Beautiful Babies group, Christina and Jackson just celebrated one year of breastfeeding<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Don’t be afraid to ask for help<\/h2>\n

\u201cI think I breastfed my daughter for about three weeks,\u201d said Christina. \u201cI didn\u2019t feel the support was there. Now that I know a little more, I suspect she may have had a tie, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sarah said it’s common for people to struggle. She suggests reaching out to a lactation consultant for advice and guidance.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen breastfeeding is not going smoothly, we look at a lot of possibilities. Do the baby and mom just need practice with positioning and latch? Or is the baby doing the best they can because of their anatomical variation?\u201d said Sarah.<\/p>\n

And be open to all the possibilities \u2013 even a thing like a lip tie and\/or tongue tie.<\/p>\n

Christina said having the lip tie revision was a great thing. “They will feel so much better in the long run.”<\/p>\n

As for comforting your baby in the short term, Christina suggested \u201clots of snuggles.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Breastfeeding is a natural thing. But it doesn\u2019t always come naturally. When Christina Dennis gave birth to her youngest, Jackson, he struggled to latch at the hospital. They\u00a0continued to try at home \u2026 and continued to struggle. \u201cIt was starting to get really painful for me,\u201d said Christina. A friend suggested she talk to Sarah […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":2088,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[118],"tags":[12,811,809,339,810],"coauthors":[681],"class_list":["post-2081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-birthing-center","tag-breastfeeding","tag-lactation-consultant","tag-lip-tie","tag-osf-st-joseph","tag-tongue-tie"],"yoast_head":"\nSimple procedure helps breastfeeding journey<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Breastfeeding is a natural thing. But it doesn\u2019t always come naturally. 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