Bottles are actually not an innate skill. Babies are born knowing how to breastfeed, and with many reflexes to support the process. However bottle are not like the breast (no matter how much the packaging claims it's "just like the breast") and it is a skill that needs to be taught and learned, by both parents and babies. Unfortunately most hospitals and Pediatricians hand out a bottle without any thought into the design, flow rate, or teaching the skill. Susan Howard works with a lot of bottle refusal babies, and has many classes for providers to learn more as well. Since new bottles are always coming out on the market staying current on new products is essential to supporting dyads with feeding. Much of the common "strategies" for bottle refusal usually make things worse, such as "wait until baby is very hungry" or "constantly wiggle the bottle to keep baby feeding". Learn more about bottle skills here.

Podcast Guest: Susan Howard MSN, RN, IBCLC is a Registered Nurse, an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant and a leader in women and infant health. She has been in maternal infant health for 27 years first as a labor and delivery nurse, a childbirth educator and as a breastfeeding educator.

Susan took a brief hiatus from maternal child nursing to oversee clinical trials at Georgetown Medical Center and was on faculty at Georgetown School of Nursing. Susan obtained her certification as a lactation consultant in 2011. She owns a private practice in the Washington DC area.

Susan has advanced training and a special interest in complex feeding issues, including tongue tie, low milk supply, and bottle-refusing babies. She teaches various feeding and parenting classes, and she hosts a popular feeding and parenting support groups.

Professionally, she lectures on supporting the bottle-refusing baby. You can learn more about her bottle skills workshops for IBCLCs that focus on strategies to support the bottle refusing dyad.

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 katie@cuddlesandmilk.com or www.cuddlesandmilk.com