“Oral dysfunction” simply means your baby’s mouth, tongue, jaw, or facial muscles aren’t working as smoothly or efficiently as they should. Signs can include a shallow or painful latch, clicking sounds, leaking milk, long or very short feeds, poor weight gain, coughing or gagging with feeds, excessive gassiness, or a baby who seems frustrated at the breast or bottle. Sometimes you’ll also see tension through the neck and shoulders or a strong preference for one side.

Yes. Oral dysfunction isn’t just a breastfeeding issue. Babies can struggle with both breast and bottle, or seem to “do fine” with the bottle but work extremely hard to compensate. You might notice chewing on the nipple instead of sucking, collapsing nipples, dribbling milk, noisy breathing while feeding, or needing specific positions to feed. My job is to figure out why feeding feels hard and help your baby use their mouth and body more efficiently.

We start with a deep dive into pregnancy, birth, feeding history, weight trends, and your specific concerns. I assess your baby’s whole body, then look closely at oral structures, tongue function, tension patterns, and how your baby actually feeds. From there, I create a plan that may include gentle chiropractic care, cranial sacral work, oral exercises, and position or latch tweaks. When needed, I coordinate with lactation, speech, occupational therapy, and release providers so you’re not trying to piece it all together alone.