Ann Dobson, RN IBCLC

Ann Dobson was a hero in the early days of my son’s life.
As any new parent knows, the first few weeks are pretty stressful. A baby is learning literally how to be alive. The parents are adjusting to this alien intruder that has ended up in their home. The dog is bereft. No one sleeps. There is crying from all souls involved.
And this is when things are going well!
When something goes a bit amiss — chaos!
My son was born with a «tongue tie.» Know what that is? Neither did I!
Here’s your 10 second education from Ann’s website:
«Some babies are born with the condition known as ankyloglossia where the thin flap of skin known as the frenulum which joins the baby’s tongue to the bottom of the mouth is shorter than normal. It is generally accepted that a tongue tie can restrict the movement of the tongue, thereby resulting in problems with breastfeeding.»
Which is exactly what we were having. Problems with breastfeeding. And a tongue tie. So add that to the conditions above and it’s really stressful — especially in a country you do not know, and needing a practitioner to come to your home to rectify this dreaded tongue tie. I called no less than 20 consultants, doctors and practices and hit many dead ends. Very frustrating as I sat there in a lot of pain with a very unhappy baby.
And then, came Ann. Ann was referred to me by a doula and even though it took me a bit of time to get a hold of her, she committed to come to my home and take care of this issue.
While it sounds really terrible — its a super quick snip to release the tie, all done very quickly while the baby is swaddled super tight. There are no nerve endings in the frenulum so the baby feels very little (if any) pain and there is a little drop of blood and then fini. They attach them to breastfeed right away to make sure the latch improves and the baby is happy as a clam.
Ann is an international board certified lactation consultant and tongue-​tie treatment and infant feeding specialist. This type of support (even if you do not have a baby with a tongue tie) can be crucial in the first days. Knowing what I know now, I would’ve booked an appointment (or several) with her BEFORE the baby was born so that the support was already set up and I wouldn’t need to worry about it.
It was a one time appointment, I just saw her once, but she made a huge difference. Payment is done via bank transfer (I believe £150). She brings all of her own instruments and after care supplies and the whole thing took less than 45 minutes. She’s very nice, if not a bit reserved, but definitely knows what she is doing.
There seems to be a serious lack of these type of professionals that are accessible so I hope this review can help someone out there in the same position I was in!
My kiddo just turned 1 yesterday and weighs in at around 13 kilos — I like to think a bit of that is due to Ann’s intervention there in week 1 to get us started on the right path.