In lactation private practice, IBCLC's spend more time with families than most other healthcare providers.  This gives us more time to help identify issues and refer out for support.  In this episode Katie Oshita discusses what screenings can be beneficial to support dyads and what to do with that information.  Listen here for more.

Podcast Host: Katie Oshita, RN, BSN, IBCLC has over 25 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  

Once you see dysfunction, once you know it’s there, you can’t go back.  That was the case for Vijaya Hunt, who learned about tongue tie from a parent perspective with her first child and made it her mission to learn more about how to support dyads with oral dysfunction.  Vijaya’s oral function knowledge has shaped her family and even extended families lives.  In this episode, Katie Oshita and Vijaya Hunt discuss oral function, paid leave, adult releases, and more.  Listen here.

Podcast Guest: Vijaya Hunt is dedicated to supporting mothers and infants in achieving their feeding goals in Brisbane, Australia. She is a highly committed professional, a mother of two, and an experienced educator in infant feeding support. Her journey in lactation began early, becoming an IBCLC at the age of 18 — a reflection of her longstanding passion for helping families thrive through breastfeeding. Despite her qualifications in midwifery and lactation consulting, she encountered significant challenges when breastfeeding her first child. After consulting multiple specialists, it was the guidance of an IBCLC with expertise in oral dysfunction that finally enabled successful feeding. This experience, including four weeks of perseverance before achieving a full latch, profoundly shaped her clinical approach. With more than four years of firsthand insight into feeding difficulties, she is driven by a clear mission: to thoroughly assess and address the underlying causes of feeding challenges, providing evidence-based care with empathy and persistence for every family she serves.

Podcast Host: Katie Oshita, RN, BSN, IBCLC has over 25 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  

The placebo effect is a real thing.  Our minds are so powerful that if we really believe in something, it makes it more likely to be true.  In lactation, parental confidence is of extreme importance.  If the parent believes they will be successful they are more likely to be successful.  Supporting that confidence is one of the many roles that an IBCLC fills for new parents.  Listen here as Katie Oshita and Sarah Oakley discuss parental confidence, breastfeeding, oral ties, and how important trusting your intuition is.

Podcast Guest: Sarah Oakley is a Registered Nurse, Health Visitor, International Board Certified Lactation Consultant and Tongue-tie Practitioner with a busy private practice based in Cambridgeshire, UK. Sarah is a founder member and former Chair of The Association of Tongue-tie Practitioners and has written a book for parents and professionals, ‘Why Tongue-tie Matters’. She has also contributed to other books on breastfeeding.  She lectures on infant feeding and tongue-tie nationally and internationally and provides study days for a number of NHS Trusts. She offers an Online Course on tongue-tie and infant feeding which is suitable for all newborn care specialists.

Podcast Host: Katie Oshita, RN, BSN, IBCLC has over 25 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  

Weight is an important metric for growth and development with infants, but it is not as simple as it seems.  There are different growth charts and metrics to decide if growth is adequate.  In this episode Katie Oshita and Hope Lima discuss how weight needs to be discussed with colleagues and clients.  Collaboration not competition is essential to support families.  Hope also discusses her Infant Feeding class and how having multiple levels of skill and support helps families. Listen here for more.

Podcast Guest: Dr. Hope Lima (she/her) is a nutrition and lactation educator and clinician who wants to help raise the bar for how we care for clients in the field of maternal and child health. She is also a wife, step-mother to three, dog lover, and nature enthusiast.

Podcast Host: Katie Oshita, RN, BSN, IBCLC has over 25 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  

Norway has universal healthcare, but it doesn’t cover tongue ties. That means families in Norway struggling with infant feeding, airway and sleep issues need to pay out of pocket for functional releases.  Dr Skallevold is not just a dentist but a specialist for oral function, airway health, and tongue ties.  His practice supports patients of all ages and helps to bring health and healing all across Norway.  Dr Skallvold discusses this with Katie Oshita in this episode.  Listen to hear more.

Podcast Guest: Hans Erling Skallevold is a holistic-minded dentist passionate about the connection between oral and overall health. Trained at the University of Oslo, he combines his dental expertise with a functional, whole-body approach to care.

Specializing in tethered oral tissues, prevention, and airway-focused dentistry, Erling emphasizes root-cause treatment through microbiome balance, sleep and breathing optimization, tongue-tie management, and nutrition. He also supports patients with dental anxiety, TMJ/TMD, facial pain, and surgical or periodontal needs.

Dedicated to expanding his scope of care, Erling is completing his medical degree while continuing to share knowledge on the mouth-body connection.

Podcast Host: Katie Oshita, RN, BSN, IBCLC has over 25 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  

Development of the craniofacial bones impacts more than just face shape, but airway growth, nervous system regulation, and more.  Chiropractic care can have a profound effect on the baby’s ability to have growth that supports their nervous system.  Focusing on creating a system that not only educates parents but builds community to empower parents is the focus of Mighty Milestones.  Ashley Dalidowitz discusses how this system supports families with Katie Oshita in this episode.

Podcast Guest: Ashley Dalidowitz is a Boston native and parent-child coach specializing in early childhood development, with a multidisciplinary background in speech-language pathology, literature, and music. A mother of five, Ashley is a strong advocate for the salutogenic model of health and the body’s innate capacity to heal.

Her personal and professional journey has been deeply shaped by chiropractic care, particularly in addressing complex pediatric concerns such as craniofacial distortions, helmet correction, tethered oral tissues (TOTS), tongue-tie revisions, and neurodevelopmental challenges including speech delays, milestone regression, autism spectrum symptoms, and PANS/PANDAS.

Ashley’s primary focus is brain health and the integrative approaches that support optimal nervous system function. Her interests span chiropractic care for the developing brain, music and speech therapy, traditional nutritional therapies, EMDR, and German New Medicine. Her goal in teaching this course and life’s mission is to empower caregivers in building inner trust and confidence as a child’s first teacher and advocate.

She is the founder of Mighty Milestones, a developmental milestone support group for expectant parents, caregivers, and families with children from conception through age three. Based in Arden, NC, the group uses It’s All in the Head by Drs. Rosen and Watson as a guiding resource for early neurodevelopmental care.  Ashley is available for consultations at theconsciouschildcoach.com.
 

Podcast Host: Katie Oshita, RN, BSN, IBCLC has over 25 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  

Slow gaining, faltering growth, failure to thrive- all of these are babies that are not getting optimal growth and development during the crucial early years.  When you add in babies not stooling regularly and the effect of the microbiome, babies aren’t doing so great.  In this episode Katie discusses how both weight and poop are common issues for babies and how these are areas we need both more research and more attention to.  

Reference Links for studies mentioned: 

Stanford Study referenced 

Industrialized countries and infant gut microbiome study

HMO study

Strains in babies for digesting breastmilk 

Podcast Host: Katie Oshita, RN, BSN, IBCLC has over 25 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  

Birth and babies are a family affair in India.  Families are large and support is deeply tied to the culture.  Dr Shivika Agarwal and Katie Oshita discuss how family support impacts breastfeeding, what it’s like to be a release provider and an IBCLC, and how bias affects medicine. Listen here.

Podcast Guest: Dr. Shivika Agarwal is a Senior Dental Consultant and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) with over 15 years of experience in pediatric dentistry and lactation care. She specializes in tongue and lip tie releases, breastfeeding support, and pediatric sedation dentistry.

Dr. Agarwal leads clinical care at Tooth Tales Clinic and serves as a Lactation Consultant at GIMS Greater Noida, where she has supported over a thousand families. She is also an educator and mentor, having lectured for postgraduate programs and delivered national and international webinars on oral ties and breastfeeding.

A member of ILCA, ICAP, and ALPI, Dr. Agarwal is passionate about improving breastfeeding outcomes and integrating dental and lactation sciences to support families with evidence-based, compassionate care.

Podcast Host: Katie Oshita, RN, BSN, IBCLC has over 25 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  

Maternal and child health thrive with the right support. For over two decades, Dr. Manisha Gogri has combined her expertise as a medical doctor and IBCLC to guide families through pregnancy, birth, and breastfeeding. She pioneered one of Mumbai’s first pregnancy fitness programs and led lactation initiatives across India. She approaches care with a whole-person perspective. In this episode, Katie Oshita talks with Dr. Gogri about her journey and passion for empowering mothers and babies. 

Podcast Guest: Dr. Manisha Gogri is an experienced medical doctor (M.B.B.S.) and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), with over two decades of work in maternal and child health. After earning her degree from Seth G.S. Medical College and K.E.M. Hospital, Mumbai, she pursued further certifications in childbirth education, prenatal and postnatal fitness, hypnobirthing, and waterbirth. She pioneered one of Mumbai’s first pregnancy education and fitness programs, FIT FOR BIRTH, and has been a leader in lactation support, serving as Secretary for BPNI Maharashtra, volunteering with La Leche League International, and training healthcare professionals across India. Dr. Gogri has worked at several leading hospitals, runs her own lactation clinic in Powai, and supports families globally through virtual consultations and collaborations with organizations like Cleo and Luke Coutinho’s Pregnancy Care Program.

A dedicated educator and advocate, Dr. Gogri has authored textbook chapters, contributed to magazines, and presented at international conferences. She is passionate about advancing breastfeeding medicine, currently pursuing specialized training and leading workshops on issues like tongue tie and relactation. Her personal experience includes exclusively breastfeeding her two sons for a total of 5.5 years. In recognition of her significant contributions, she received the prestigious Dr. N. B. Kumta Award in August 2025.

Podcast Host: Katie Oshita, RN, BSN, IBCLC has over 25 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  

Airway health is absolutely critical to growth and development.  When our brain isn’t getting enough oxygen, we don’t sleep, grow or feel as good.  Dr Roche and his wife Kate started the National Tongue Tie Center in Ireland 8 years ago to address this integral part of health.  Now they see patients as a whole person, not just a part of their body.  In this episode Katie Oshita discusses with Dr Roche and Kate why they saw the need for the Center, and how it has changed.  Listen here to learn more about tongue tie in Ireland.

Podcast Guest: Dr. Justin Roche is a Consultant Paediatrician and IBCLC with over two decades of experience in the field of tongue tie. He has worked as a consultant in hospital and community paediatric settings and together with Kate he founded the National Tongue tie Centre in Ireland of which he is the Medical Director. At the National Tongue Tie Centre the team provides multidisciplinary care to infants, children and adults. They have developed a pathway of care to bring Functional Frenuloplasty to infants and children from 3 months of age. Having historically used scissors, then diode laser, he has spent years refining his CO2 laser skills to advance surgical technique to work with the tissue planes for selective fascial release. Justin has completed extensive post-graduate training in tongue tie, lectures internationally on the topic and has produced courses to share this knowledge.

Kate is the Clinical Director at the National Tongue Tie Centre in Ireland and leads a team of Therapists and Lactation Consultants to provide the highest quality of rehabilitative care to infants, children and adults with oral dysfunctions. She is a Chartered Physiotherapist, IBCLC and Paediatric Feeding Therapist. Having trained at the University of Liverpool, she worked in both Leeds and Southampton, where she led and delivered the regional neonatal service for pre-term and high-risk infants, before moving to Ireland. She is a member of the Irish Society of Chartered Physiotherapists and registered with CORU. Kate has travelled overseas many times over the years to complete further training in Feeding Therapy, Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy and Craniosacral Therapy, and now lectures internationally.

Podcast Host: Katie Oshita, RN, BSN, IBCLC has over 25 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