OT and Lactation can have a very complementary relationship however, sadly it's frequently a complicated relationship instead.  In this episode Katie Oshita and Nat Udwin discuss how IBCLCs and OTs can not only support each other but support families for better results.  OT is all about skills to "do your job" which can mean work skills for an adult, but for a baby their job is eat, sleep, poop, exist comfortably.  In their OT practice, Nat sees a lot of fussy babies, with sleep, feeding breathing and regulation difficulties.  There can be delayed milestones, impaired reflex expression/integration, and asymmetry.  Nat sees many clients virtually, teaching parents how to use play and movement to help their child thrive.   Working together with an IBCLC and OT isn't always necessary but when there are issues needing more support, the results are astounding.

Podcast Guest: Nat (Natalie Udwin) is an infant development, airway and reflexive feeding specialist AKA pediatric OT.  On IG, most people know them as "Nat The Baby OT".  Nat's home base is in Atlanta, GA but they also work virtually with families all over the world.   Nat has a B.A. in Studio Art from Whitman College, an M.S. in OT from Milligan College and has been an OT for 12 years.  They have specialized in infant development for 7 years now.  Nat has a 4 year old son named Ari and enjoys anything in or on water, hiking, traveling, abstract painting and drawing and is definitely happiest outdoors.  

Sometime around 2015, Nat's eyes were opened to the world of reflex integration, which completely transformed their practice.  Finally, Nat was seeing skills were sticking and carrying over to other aspects of daily life that just weren't happening before for their patients.  It was the "foundational" approach to therapy that Nat had been trying to figure out for years.  After a couple of years of learning to integrate or inhibit retained reflexes, Nat began to ask WHY.  Why were all of these kids retaining these reflexes from infancy into childhood?  What was happening developmentally to change their trajectory?  Nat needed to know.  

So . . . Nat dove headfirst into infant development courses.  They quickly learned about the importance of human connection and emotional regulation in early infancy, as well as the developmental importance of strong breathing and oral motor skills to support a lifetime of healthy growth.  It was now all starting to make sense.  The next step was to start working with infants, and to put all of this new knowledge to the test.  Nat, alongside some incredible mentors and colleagues, has spent the past 7 years mastering their understanding of infant development to not only become an infant development specialist, but to create what is now the foundation of a holistic airway focused practice for children of all ages.  

Podcast host: Katie Oshita, RN, BSN, IBCLC has over 24 years of experience working in Maternal-Infant Medicine.  While Katie sees clients locally in western WA, Katie is also 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 [email protected] or www.cuddlesandmilk.com