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 katie@cuddlesandmilk.com or www.cuddlesandmilk.com