Body-Led Breastfeeding Blog

Classic lactation support techniques to address nipple pain and poor milk transfer mostly focus on latch assessment and correction; they are less able to identify and modify potential oral dysfunction occurring inside the infant’s mouth. The technique presented here utilizes the suck reflex to uncover and treat specific areas of weakness and is easy for lactation support providers to apply in any breastfeeding support setting.

"Just wanted to share: Thank goodness we got her nursing! We were up in a very remote part of Canada this weekend at our family cabin. We lost power Saturday afternoon and still hadn’t come on this morning. I don’t know what we would have done if we were still relying on pumping. She nursed all weekend and I hand expressed when I got engorged. I guess I’m just sharing to say, yet again, how life changing what you do is….” As a private practice IBCLC, receiving messages like t

Welcome to Part 2 of puzzling out the buccal frenula! We’ve talked about what the buccal frenulum is in Buccal Frenula and Breastfeeding: Part 1. Buccal frenula are mainly muscle compared to the lingual and labial frenula, which are largely type 1 collagen. That means buccal frenula are generally more stretchy than labial or lingual frenula. Let’s widen our lens. Why do these tiny spots in oral anatomy matter to breastfeeding parents and babies? Or do they at all? What should

What exactly is a buccal tie? Understanding the frenula has become pivotal to supporting breastfeeding. Although there is still much to learn, the evidence is beginning to come together. We mostly know what the frenula are made of and what their purpose is, and we are starting to get a feel for the role they plays for us as caretakers of the breastfeeding relationship. The buccal frenula appears to be the last frontier in oral frenula, and it is a little different from either