Connections Occupational Therapy

04/10/2026

For therapists following this page 🎉🩵

ATTENTION: OTs, PTs, SLPs or other professionals working with moms and babies—One of our goals at WV Maternal and Child Therapy Collaborative is to highlight services and resources here in WV. Our first monthly feature is Cara Daubenspeck, OTR/L, IBCLC, PMH-C at Connections Occupational Therapy in Charleston, WV. Cara provides comprehensive care for babies breastfeeding, bottle feeding and transitioning to solids in an outpatient setting.

For more information about what Cara does and OT’s role in breast and bottle feeding join us via Zoom on Friday, April 17 at 12:00. If you’re not on our email list, please send us a message!

Want to be featured in the future? Let us know!

04/10/2026

🚨 Attention Pediatric Providers in WEST VIRGINIA 🚨

We still have open seats for our upcoming Certified Infant Massage Coach course on April 17-18 in Charleston, WV.

SIGN UP TODAY and get certified NEXT WEEKEND!

Sign up: https://pediatrictheratools.com/massage

04/04/2026

A clogged duct (now called ductal narrowing) happens when an area around the milk duct gets inflamed and the duct gets compressed by local swelling. This causes a painful lump to emerge and you may experience breast redness accompanied by reduced milk output.

clogged ducts may be caused by:

-Infrequent milk removal
-Oral dysfunction
-Incorrect fl**ge size
-Incorrect fl**ge size
-Waiting too long to pump
-Skipping feeds
-Compressive clothing
-Oversupply of breastmilk
-Frequent antibiotic use

Mastitis is an inflammatory process inside of your breast caused by an unresolved clogged duct. In the beginning, mastitis is not considered a bacterial infection. However, if not treated, it can easily turn into one and may require antibiotic therapy.

Symptoms of mastitis include red and swollen area in the breast, fever, fatigue and decrease in milk supply on the affected side.

Mastitis does not ALWAYS require antibiotics. Often antibiotics are given before BAIT Protocol (comment BAIT and we will send you the protocol we recommend!) is used. Antibiotics address bacterial infection - but not inflammation so mothers may experience a slight relief in mastitis symptoms from antibiotics but often don’t fully heal if the root cause is not addressed.

If you develop a fever, you typically have about 24-48 hours before antibiotics may be needed. Call your doctor if your symptoms are not improving within 24-48h of BAIT treatment. Most antibiotics are safe to take while breastfeeding.

04/04/2026

Be the reason someone has a positive postpartum experience. Show up in the way SHE needs and not the way you think she needs. (Hint- most times it doesn’t involve only holding the baby)

Lack of support in the postpartum period can be a major contributing factor to someone developing postpartum depression and postpartum anxiety. I will ALWAYS preach- hold the mama, not the baby. The baby isn’t the one being forgotten.

03/31/2026

Therapy friends! Please follow WV Maternal and Child Health Therapy Collaborative page for upcoming information about our April meeting as well as opportunities for collaboration and resources!

03/28/2026

Do you hate washing what feels like a million bottle parts every day? 🫠

Well… you might not need to anymore.

A new randomized trial published by JAMA just looked at whether those “anti-colic” / vented bottles actually help with gas in babies…

👉 And here’s what they found:

Across over 1,000 infants (0–90 days old)
there was NO meaningful difference in gas or GI discomfort between bottle types!

Yep.

All those vents, parts, and extra cleaning? They didn’t reduce gas overall.

Now, there were a couple of other findings - some babies in one group cried less during or after feeds, and older babies in one small subgroup seemed to do better.

But the study authors say we need to be careful with those results - older baby finding was not the main point of the study so the data is significantly less reliable as smaller/extra findings are more likely to happen by chance unless proven again in another study.

My take as an IBCLC:

Gas is usually not about the bottle itself (though we do recommend bottles that pass the triangle shape test).

Discomfort during and after feeding is more about:

👉 flow
👉 pacing
👉 positioning
👉 oral function

So if you’ve been overcomplicating things trying to fix gas… this is your reminder that simple can indeed work well.

Liu Y, Ding Y, Yu H, et al. Feeding Bottles With Different Venting Methods and Gastrointestinal Discomfort in Infants: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2026;9(3):e263749. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.3749

03/24/2026

03/24/2026

Sharing again 🩵

In order to achieve optimal outcomes, therapy is recommended pre procedure. While many still think a frenectomy is a quick snip, better results are achieved when babies are feeding as best as possible and neurologically ready. We want babies moving their body. We want parents to be educated about the process and confident in their decisions. We want families to know there is a plan in place to help them meet their goals.

03/24/2026

This Friday!

Are you a PT, OT, SLP working with moms and babies/children in WV? Would you like to network with other professionals? Join our March meet up via zoom on Friday 3/27 at 12:00. If interested, please send me your contact information for the zoom link.

03/19/2026

Participate if you can!

Research study opportunity!!

Link to study: https://wvu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_74lKWIBRAMjMZKK?Q_CHL=qr

03/19/2026

Over the past year, the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline has been fortunate to support moms across different stages of their lives. Whether you are currently pregnant, postpartum, or the loved one of someone who is—the Hotline is here for you. Call or text 1-833-TLC-MAMA anytime, anyplace. Learn more at http://ms.spr.ly/6185SrikU.

03/19/2026

Next Friday March 27! 🎉 Please save the date and join us!

Are you a PT, OT, SLP working with moms and babies/children in WV? Would you like to network with other professionals? Join our March meet up via zoom on Friday 3/27 at 12:00. If interested, please send me your contact information for the zoom link.