Tongue tie or Ankyloglossia as it is officially known, is when a piece of frenulum (tissue) that holds the bottom of the tongue, to the floor of the mouth is too short or tight. There is also lip tie or labial frenulum or buccal / cheek ties. But more on those later.

Everyone has frenulum, but in some babies, that piece of tissue can be really tight, thick or forward closer to the tip of the tongue, restricting its ability to move freely, to lift, to cup and hold nipple, to obtain a deeper latch and to effectively transfer milk. All key ingredients in breastfeeding.

This can lead to some or all of the following feeding symptoms:

Breastfeeding, like anything related to parenthood, comes with a ton of advice and opinions! A lot of it is incorrect and sometimes downright dangerous! Here are 12 myths I would love to dispel!

This years world breastfeeding weeks theme is all about making a difference to working parents.

With that in mind, here are 6 of my tips for planning for returning to work.

When breastfeeding doesn’t work out.

Birth and breastfeeding are emotional times in a woman’s life and come with a weight that is deeply personal. Women will carry and tell their birth story over and over and it will stick with them throughout their life. Similarly, a breastfeeding journey can also be full of emotions. So when breastfeeding doesn’t work out, it can leave a lasting impact. So with that in mind, I want you to know:

There isn’t always one obvious cause of mastitis. Some of the detective work we have to do is asking lots of questions about your history. There can be some strange things that make someone unfortunately more susceptible to mastitis. There are the obvious ones, not fully draining the breast, skipping feeds or a poor latch. But sometimes a perfect storm of stress, trauma coming to surface, lack of sleep, poor snacking habits and a body prone to inflammation can trigger it. As always, seek help and try to be aware of what might be triggering for you so that you can take steps to manage your situation.

Breastfeeding has been recommended for children up to 2 years and as long as mutually desired. And yet we still hear stories of Mums being told to wean because there is no longer a benefit to their baby. So here are some reasons to continue breastfeeding your “older” child.

Connection - I loved feeding my older child, especially after being away from him all day at work. I called it “Reconnection Feeding”. I moment to stop, relax and chill out together!

Immunity - This is the biggest one! Those first years of daycare germs are brutal on the immune system! They get sick with everything (and so do you!). Your breastmilk is an alive substance. By taking in all of those disgusting germs, your milk then changes to combat those germs and get your little one get over those illnesses a little quicker.

Thank you for the recent announcements to increase paid parental leave from 18 weeks to 26 weeks. This is a huge step in supporting women and families and future generations of Australia’s children by getting them off to the best start in life. Whilst 26 weeks is a huge step in the right direction, we do, however, have many concerns around the “use it or lose it” policy discussion that is around at this time. Whilst we understand the government’s desire to achieve economic equality for women, discussions we have had with families overwhelmingly show a desire to be paid for the time taken out of the workforce, not simply to get back to work and have the father or partner replace them at home. When we look at parental leave from health and developmental outcomes for women and children, the 26 weeks has been proven to be what is the minimal optimum outcome.

SO HOW DOES ANTENATAL COLOSTRUM COLLECTION HELP US?

Well, it does a number of things. It helps women get to know their body, learn about their breasts and start stimulating their breast tissue, glands and ducts. The colostrum that is collected can be saved, frozen and taken to the hospital to be given to the baby if required. It can also help to kickstart your breasts so if anything does cause a delay, then we have given everything a little pre birth boost. It can also prevent unnecessary formula use if we have it in our back pocket, so for that reason, I do recommend giving it a go.

While I don’t generally love telling parents what they can and can’t do or eat etc during lactation, there are a couple of things to be aware of that can have an impact on milk supply. This list isn’t exhaustive and you should always check with your primary caregiver or lactation specialist.

Peppermint - Excessive amounts of peppermint could lower milk supply in some mothers.

Sage Tea - Due to the drying properties of sage and infant gut hypersensitivity, it is recommended to avoid sage either as tea or in foods.

Pseudoephedrine, otherwise known as Sudafed, is used as a decongestant, meaning it is used to dry up mucus. In women with marginal or low supply, this can cause further milk loss and it is generally recommended to avoid it while breastfeeding for most breastfeeding parents.

In April of this year I created a petition to increase paid parental leave from 18 weeks to 26 weeks and I gave a number of evidence based recommendations to justify the increase based on best practice for breastfeeding (because that’s what I do and is my passion!). I also sent letters to various ministers and was told by the then social services minister that the 2009 Productivity Commission Report that was the basis for the decision around 18 weeks. I’ve since gone through the entire 585 page report shows evidence on so many levels that 6 months is the optimal length of time for parental leave, not just for breastfeeding outcomes, but overall child development, child attachment and maternal and parenting outcomes. The petition closed on 27/4/22 with 8,461 signatures and since then the government has changed hands so I am writing to the new ministers with the below information.

I have copied and pasted key highlights below that support 26 weeks parental leave.

The Australian Parental Leave Pay (PLP) policy is currently up to 18 weeks paid at minimum wage. 

The WHO and UNICEF recommendations for breastfeeding of infants, is for children to be exclusively breastfed for 6 months. 

One of the main objectives of the Australian National Breastfeeding Strategy: 2019 and Beyond; is to increase the population of babies who are exclusively breastfed to around 6 months of age by 2025, particularly in priority populations and vulnerable groups. 

The most recent Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Breastfeeding report shows that at 4 months of age 61% of children were exclusively breastfed but at 6 months of age this dramatically drops to only 29% of children who were exclusively breastfeeding. 

There is strong evidence from diverse countries that longer duration of paid maternity leave increases breastfeeding duration and improves maternal health. One of these many studies can be found here.

Increasing access to paid maternity leave will have a direct positive impact on these national and worldwide health objectives. This structural policy change is in the direct ability of the Commonwealth Government to achieve. 

We therefore ask the House to immediately increase of the Australian Parental Leave Pay (PLP) Policy from 18 weeks to 26 weeks in line with the WHO recommendations and Australian national breastfeeding objectives.  

The good news is there is no evidence that COVID-19 can be passed on to your baby in breast milk, and the benefits of breastfeeding and the protection it offers outweigh any possible risks. There are no reports showing the COVID-19 virus (SARS-CoV-2) is present in breastmilk.

There have also been recent studies into antibodies in breastmilk and their protection factors for newborns. Breastfeeding women who have been infected with Covid-19 continue to secrete virus-neutralising antibodies into their milk for up to 10 months.

Cluster Feeding is a baby putting in their order. To tell your body to make milk. They bring a bunch of feeds together non-stop and basically feed around the clock. On day one of life, they are a little sleepy. Hopefully they do a lovely breast crawl and latch all on their own. They might have a couple of feeds but generally they snooze. You are wide awake mind you, hormones, oxytocin (hello you just had a baby, you rock star you!) So you’re awake and baby is a snoozer.

Did you know they are generally supposed to be a temporary measure and a short term tool to help you. 

Nipple shields are great for a variety of reasons and here are a couple. 

1 - Nipple Damage - Nipple damage is usually because of a bad latch in the early days while everyone is still learning and working it all out. But the baby could also have a tongue tie. If we have damage, the first thing we want to do is really check that the latch is the deep enough. Roll the baby back and if they fall off easily they usually aren’t on deep enough. 

If the baby has a tie this needs to be assessed and either cut or given exercises to help if it is minor. 

Soups in Winter, especially for Post-Natal care are nourishing, healthy and yummy!

Here is my favourite - Chicken Avgolemono Soup (Greek Lemon Soup)

It’s super easy to make too!

How can Dads and Partners Support Breastfeeding and Newborn Ideas?

- Attend a breastfeeding class with Mum. Chances are, her brain could go to mush after the baby is born. A second set of ears, taking in all the information, reminding Mum that night 2 in normal, suggesting positions learnt in class in invaluable.

- Being aware that breastfeeding is an all encompassing process that takes hours out of the day, every day. It is the equivalent of a full time job. That being trapped under a baby is a beautiful but exhausting job.

- BURP THE BABY! Babies are milk drunk after a feed, they don’t necessarily need to be burped but by burping them, Dads bounce around and have the baby up on their shoulders, are naturally hot bodied and babies love to fall asleep up there. Therefore baby learns that Dads shoulder is a great place to fall asleep and they then become masters at settling the baby!

A beautiful Mum popped into the shop this week, we got chatting and she also has a 4 month old baby who had just had his vaccinations. I asked her how things we going and she revealed she was upset because she had just spoken to the GP about how she was feeling like maybe she didn’t have as much milk as once before and the baby was waking up a little more than usual.