#18 Exploring tongue ties in the breastfeeding dyad. With Dr Cara Riek

The issue of tongue ties affecting infant feeding is not new, but it has become more topical in the past few years as parents have begun to value the role that breastfeeding plays in early nutrition and oral development. The WHO recommends that babies exclusively breastfeed for 6 months and encourage that it continues up to two years of age. However, for those who choose this for their baby, what are the barriers to a successful breastfeeding (or even bottle-feeding) journey for a mother and baby? In what way does a tongue tie affect this?Dr Cara Riek, is an Arizona based health practitioner and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC ) who assists families to achieve positive breastfeeding outcomes through thorough evaluation of both the mother and baby and, if required, provides a release of the tethered oral tissues via laser procedure at her specialist practice, the Arizona Breastfeeding Medicine and Wellness Centre.In this episode, Dr Cara explains the physics of successful feeding and why the baby's muscle movement is so important. We discuss the possible reasons why we are seeing an increase in the prevalence of ties and parents seeking assistance and the recommendation for aftercare.  This episode also provides a glimpse into some of the ongoing effects that tongue ties can present for an older child or adult now that Dr Cara’s services are increasingly sought after for the wellness journey for older patients as well.Further information on the  Arizona Breastfeeding Medicine and Wellness Centre can be found on their website  http://bfmedaz.comDr Cara Riek can be contacted via email: [email protected] Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLC) of Australia and New Zealand  https://www.lcanz.org/Worldwide register: https://iblce.org/public-registry/ Townsville Orofacial Myology Clinic http://www.townsvilleofm.com.au