Breastfeeding Medicine

Telehealth Appointments Now Available

CSG specialists are now offering secure and convenient appointments via telehealth. This means that your child can get the care they need from the CSG physician you trust … all from the safety and comfort of your home. Read more about how the process works here. To schedule a telehealth appointment, call (757) 668-6984.

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CHKD’s breastfeeding medicine program offers services designed to identify and treat feeding challenges of both breastfeeding mothers and their babies. Our medical team includes pediatricians who are specifically trained in breastfeeding medicine, along with access to pediatric ear, nose, and throat specialists and CHKD speech and occupational therapists.

During appointments, mothers and their babies are each registered as patients and seen together. Our goal is to create a comprehensive plan to meet the needs of everyone involved. Before being evaluated by our team, babies must have been seen by their primary care provider after birth.

Our Services

Outpatient services provided by the breastfeeding medicine program at CHKD include evaluation and treatment for the following:

• Latch difficulties
• Low milk supply and oversupply
• Sore nipples, plugged ducts, and engorgement
• Breastfeeding assistance for premature babies, multiple gestation (twins and triplets), and babies with complex medical issues
• Slow weight gain
• Nipple or breast infections
• Tongue-tie or lip-tie issues with the infant
• Breastfeeding challenges following maternal breast surgery

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Frequently Asked Questions

Who are we?

Dr. Brenner and Dr. Sriraman are general pediatricians who have focused their careers supporting breastfeeding families and teaching pediatric residents and students about breastfeeding medicine. They have worked collaboratively with CHKD ENT physicians to develop a framework for assessing breastfeeding and oral anatomic concerns that arise. Breastfeeding Medicine was established to address complex feeding challenges in a comprehensive fashion.

What do we do? 

Breastfeeding Medicine takes a holistic approach to feeding assessment.  We register both mom and baby as our patients and address the pair individually and as a whole.  As pediatricians, we review the details of the pregnancy, labor & delivery, and nursery course of the mother and infant–taking into account any pre-existing maternal conditions, premature delivery and post-natal challenges.  After an in-depth history, we will review the infant’s growth chart, examine the mother and infant, observe a breastfeeding session and if necessary a bottle feeding and/or breast pumping session to fully understand the challenges they are facing.  We will also evaluate for maternal postpartum depression and anxiety, which often are part of breastfeeding challenges. 

I referred my patient to ENT for evaluation of tongue-tie, why are they seeing Breastfeeding Medicine?

Breastfeeding Medicine has worked collaboratively with CHKD ENT to fully explore the biomechanical complexities of infant feeding by breast or bottle, and the role oral structures may have. There is a wide spectrum of normal oral anatomy with regard to the lingual and labial frenulum.  It is important to assess lip and tongue function and optimize positioning at the breast taking into account maternal body habitus, nipple/breast tissue shape and elasticity, infant maturity and size.  Assessment of the “fit and hold” of the mother and infant is essential and can often be varied to maximize the intraoral breast tissue volume and vacuum to enhance milk transfer. We believe it is important to assess anatomy and function completely to understand which babies might benefit from a surgical frenotomy prior performing the procedure.

 

Contact Info:

(757) 668-6984

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Locations: