Visit our Facebook page!
  MOBI Motherhood International
  • Home
  • Long Term Baby's Issues
    • Breastfeeding and the Sensory World of the Baby - Part I
    • Breastfeeding and the Sensory World of the Baby - Part II
    • Milk Flow: It’s at the Heart of Breastfeeding >
      • Fast Flow
      • Slow Flow
    • When a Baby Refuses to Nurse
    • Helping Babies who Have Down Syndrome Learn to Breastfeed
    • The Role of the IBCLC
  • Low Milk Supply
  • Tongue and Lip Ties
    • What We Have Learned From Our Tongue Tied Babies
    • Does It Hurt to Have Ties Released? and Other Frequently Asked Questions
  • Baby's Issues
    • Oral Motor Skills and Breastfeeding >
      • Feed the Baby: When a Baby Needs Extra Help
      • What You Don't Know Could Help You
      • Oral Defensiveness
      • Finding the Help You Need
  • Mother's Issues
    • Breastfeeding Grief >
      • Postpartum Depression – Baby Blues or Something More?
      • Blaze a Trail through Your Tears: When Breastfeeding Doesn’t Go as Planned
    • Mother's Other Issues >
      • Why I Removed My Implants
      • Identifying Food Sensitivities: Messages from Our Bodies
      • Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and Breastfeeding
      • Angie's Tips for Building Milk Supply
  • Mothers' Quotes
    • Breastfeeding Stories >
      • Caroline's Story
      • Cheryl's Story
      • Jenn's Story
      • Adeline's Story
      • Lisa's Story
      • Naomi's First Story
      • Naomi's Second Story
      • Susan's Story
      • Misty's Story
    • Post Partum Depression
    • Poems by Mothers
  • Foods, Herbs & Medicines
    • Lactogenic Foods and Herbs
    • Introduction to the MOBI Herbal
    • Lactogenic Foods and Herbs: Mother Nature's Milk Boosters
    • How to Prepare Tea
    • Herbal Galactagogues
    • Medicines
  • Where to Get Help ?
    • Finding Additional Help
  • MOBI Support Group
  • MOBI Blog
  • About MOBI
    • For New Readers
    • MOBI: Past, Present and Future
    • What Others are Saying about MOBI
    • MOBI Volunteer Team
  • Donate
  • Contact Us


Finding Additional Help

Picture
If you decide that you need professional guidance beyond your IBCLC and health care provider, begin with a call to your IBCLC or your health care provider’s office. Share your concerns and ask for a referral to a specialist. These resources might be as diverse as a mental health professionals, ENT specialists, dental surgeons, feeding therapists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, chiropractors, osteopaths, or people skilled in using CranioSacral Therapy and/or Neuro-Developmental Treatment (NDT).

If your IBCLC or health care provider does not have a referral for you, you may be able to locate an Early Intervention Program in the USA at NICHCY.

Another avenue is to check with your health care plan to see if there are providers available to you through your health care system.

Each type of therapist and each kind of therapy has a different approach. If you or your child does not click with one therapist, keep looking until you find the right chemistry.

Whichever avenue you explore, look for someone with experience working with infants, and someone who is sensitive to babies and respectful of them in their approach.


ENT Specialist, Dental Surgeon

Some babies may have a tight lingual frenulum (tissue that attaches the tongue to the bottom of the mouth) which restricts movement of their tongue. This is also known as “tongue tie.” Clipping the lingual frenulum was so common at one time that most physicians knew how to do it, and had a tool handy in their office. Some still do.

If cutting the frenulum involves interrupting blood flow, treatment may involve more than a trip to your pediatrician or family practice doctor. An “ear, nose and throat specialist” (ENT) or a dentist or dental surgeon are good places to turn if your baby’s medical professional has no referrals for you. The sooner the tongue is freed to function properly, the better for all concerned. Tongue Tie Babies Support Group on Face book was among the first to have a list of providers who are familiar with more than just the basic tongue and lip ties.

http://www.aap.org/breastfeeding/8-27%20Newsletter.pdf  Academy of Pediatrics Section on Breastfeeding, Summer 2004

http://www.brianpalmerdds.com/frenum.htm 
An educational tool by Dr. Palmer's Frenum Presentation, which he has granted permission for anyone to use for educational purposes.


Mental Health Professionals

Having a baby changes life in profound ways. Such great changes can bring great stress. Mental health professionals can help families cope at this trying time.

Mothers may be feeling the onset of postpartum depression, which can be triggered or exacerbated when birth and breastfeeding expectations are not met. For instance, mothers may be grieving over unexpected birth outcomes, and/or separation from their baby after birth, and may also be going through disappointments and grief over breastfeeding outcomes.

This emotional time, compounded by a fussy baby, lack of sleep, lack of support, and worry about her baby, can be overwhelming.

Both consultation and medication can benefit the mother who is feeling blue. Don’t wait to get help. If you feel you just can not cope, you are not alone.

  • http://www.postpartum.org/
  • The National Suicide Hotline, National Hopeline Network, at 1-800-784-2433
  • The National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453
  • Dr. Thomas Hale, Breastfeeding Pharmacology
  • Postpartum Depression – Baby Blues or Something More? : Identifying, Coping With, and Treating PPD

A Licensed Feeding Therapist

After problem solving with an IBCLC, it may be helpful to consult a feeding therapist (a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist or Occupational Therapist) who has specific expertise in infant feeding.

Feeding Therapists are experts on the structure and function of the mouth and swallow mechanisms. They can work in conjunction with your baby, you, and your IBCLC to help your baby become a more efficient, coordinated feeder. It is always important to inquire about the professional’s specific expertise with oral motor as related to breastfeeding.

  • Locate a Certified Speech-Language Pathologist in the USA
  • Locate a Certified Speech-Language Therapist in Canada
  • Locate an Occupational Therapist

Physical or Massage Therapy

Labor sometimes leaves a mother and baby feeling stiff and sore. For mothers, a good therapeutic massage may be just the ticket to help that sore neck or back.

Two special therapies are frequently beneficial for a mom and a baby who is having trouble breastfeeding, CranioSacral therapy and chiropractic treatment.

CranioSacral Therapist
CranioSacral therapy can be described as a light-touch therapeutic massage. Some mothers report that it helped their breastfeeding relationship, reduced their baby’s crying, or turned around their baby’s breast refusal.

CranioSacral Therapy was defined by its developer, Dr. John Upledger, as a “gentle, hands-on method of evaluating and enhancing the functioning of ... the membranes and cerebrospinal fluid that surround and protect the brain and spinal cord.

CranioSacral Therapy can be especially important for babies with mechanical feeding problems. When used in conjunction with speech, occupational or physical therapy it can hasten the resolution of oral motor issues.

Chiropractic/Osteopathic Treatment
Many families have seen marked improvements in their infant’s feeding skills after chiropractic or osteopathic evaluation and treatment. While Chiropractic and osteopathic care for adults can be somewhat forceful, chiropractors and osteopaths who work with infants use gentle hands-on treatment, and focus on helping the baby overcome discomfort that originated before, during or after the birth process. Chiropractic and osteopaths were among the first professions to use gentle hands on treatment for infants and have been at the forefront of treating newborns.

Reactions to “bodywork” from a Cranial-Sacral therapist, osteopath, chiropractor or other massage professional may differ from time to time and from child to child.

It is not uncommon for the baby to be calm and extra sleepy after the treatment, but don’t count on it. Some babies will cry during the treatment, even though it is not a rough treatment, and others are energized by the therapy and may forgo their next nap.

As a general rule the child should be seen at least twice, once for an initial treatment, and a second time, to evaluate how well the initial treatment has held. Sometimes the changes are dramatic and other times more subtle. Often it is two steps forward and one step back, so that a series of sessions may be called for.

  • http://www.Upledger.org
  • http://www.iahe.com/html/therapies/cst.php
  • http://icpa4kids.org/find-a-chiropractor, The International Chiropractic Pediatric Association
  • http://www.osteopathycare.com/baby.html
Back to "Where to Get Help"