About Us
Teaching Babies to Nurse was founded in 2020 by Ellen Chetwynd, PhD, MPH, BSN, IBCLC, with a simple belief: nursing is a dynamic relationship between mother and child. To change the relationship, we need to teach the baby how to use their body.
Over years of clinical practice, research, and teaching, Ellen found that many families struggling with persistent pain, poor milk transfer, breast refusal, or other complex feeding challenges had already received excellent lactation care- sometimes from others and sometimes from herself! Despite this, some of the most difficult breastfeeding problems persisted. Traditional approaches focused on the maternal perspective, and without the infant perspective, she didn’t have the tools to treat the part of nursing that arose from the baby’s body.
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This realization led to the development of Body-Led Breastfeeding, an approach that integrates advanced lactation consulting with an understanding of infant body dynamics, movement, and learning. Rather than focusing solely on latch or positioning, Body-Led Breastfeeding examines how babies use their bodies to feed, identifying patterns of tension or overuse on and off the breast and compensations for dysfunctional sucking patterns or movements that may be interfering with nursing.
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Today, Teaching Babies to Nurse is much more than a lactation practice. It is a referral center for families facing complex breastfeeding challenges and for those seeking a deeper understanding of why feeding is not working as expected.
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Our team includes lactation consultants trained in Body-Led Breastfeeding, bodyworkers skilled in craniosacral therapy and other hands-on techniques, and osteopathic physicians who bring medical expertise and gentle manual treatment into the care process. Together, we provide a level of collaboration that most families never experience elsewhere.
Rather than working in separate silos, our providers work together to understand the whole picture: your body, your baby's body, and the relationship between the two. This allows us to address breastfeeding challenges from multiple angles, ensuring that nothing falls through the cracks.
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Whether you are seeking answers to persistent pain, poor weight gain, feeding refusal, low milk transfer, or simply a breastfeeding experience that feels harder than it should, our goal is the same: to understand why nursing isn't going well and help your baby learn a more effective, comfortable way to feed.
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Because breastfeeding is not just about milk. It is a relationship between two bodies learning to work together—and sometimes that relationship needs a different kind of support.