Breastfeeding Medicine of Northeast Ohio

Breastfeeding Medicine of Northeast Ohio Breastfeeding Medicine of Northeast Ohio is dedicated to helping breastfeeding families She is also a Fellow of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine.

Dr. Ann Witt is a board-certified family physician with more than a decade of experience caring for women and children, including both personal and professional experience with breastfeeding. A Cleveland native, Dr. Witt graduated from CWRU School of Medicine and completed additional training in Seattle, WA. Dr. Witt is one of a handful of physicians in Ohio who is IBCLC certified.

Check out highlights from the new blog post at BFMEDPrimary Care. Please share with your support networks. For full bl...
08/04/2025

Check out highlights from the new blog post at BFMEDPrimary Care. Please share with your support networks. For full blog see: https://www.bfmedprimarycare.com/blog/sustaining-breastfeeding-together
Prioritise Breastfeeding: Create Sustainable Support Systems is the theme for World Breastfeeding Week 2025. The theme highlights protecting and promoting breastfeeding to help protect our environment.
Improving support within our healthcare system and protecting breastfeeding is a sustainable practice.
Team-based lactation consultant (LC)/primary care provider (P*P) support is one option that not only supports environmentally sustainable infant feeding practices, but does it in a way that is itself sustainable within a practice
Team-based care also improves sustainability because it serves to connect lactation and primary care within our existing health care system, which helps strengthen the "Warm Chain" of support for breastfeeding.
To expand and strengthen the sustainability of the Warm Chain of breastfeeding support, we can increase and improve outpatient primary care support through integrated lactation visits.







07/29/2025

Prenatal breastfeeding question #4: What is colostrum?
Colostrum is your body's first milk. It is full of nutrients and special immune factors like antibodies to help your little one develop a robust immune system!







Otherwise perfectly healthy, term newborns may still experience sucking difficulty that can affect breastfeeding includi...
07/22/2025

Otherwise perfectly healthy, term newborns may still experience sucking difficulty that can affect breastfeeding including painful feedings or taking less milk then is actually available in the breast.
90% of parents report experiencing breast and/or ni**le pain in the first week of breastfeeding and pain is a common cause for early weaning.
This study randomized 42 babies who were found to have sucking problems on exam into two tracks: standard lactation support (control group) vs. standard lactation support with osteopathic treatment (treatment group). Treatment and observation continued for four weeks. For study details see: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11121344/
Osteopathic treatments are performed by physicians and include gentle stretches and massages to release tension in the muscles, joint, bones, and connective tissues. Changes and imbalances in these structures in the newborn can come from positioning in the womb, delivery, and the first few days of life.
By the end of the study, both groups were found to have improved sucking scores, but the group that received osteopathic treatment had significantly higher (improved) sucking scores. Although it was not statistically significant, by the end of the study, infants in the treatment were more liikely to be exclusively breastfeeding while the control group had a decrease in breastfeeding exclusivity.
Numerous studies have shown that breastfeeding difficulties in the first week can lead to early weaning. This is one of the reasons why early treatments that can reduce pain and sucking effectiveness are so important for long-term breastfeeding success. This study suggests that early osteopathic treatments may be among those interventions that can be helpful in the early newborn period for improving sucking skills and increasing breastfeeding.
We offer early osteopathic treatment as part of our breastfeeding evaluations. Please contact us if you are having difficulties.







Let's celebrate World Breastfeeding Week 2025, August 1st through 7th.This year's theme: Prioritise Breastfeeding: Cre...
07/19/2025

Let's celebrate World Breastfeeding Week 2025, August 1st through 7th.
This year's theme: Prioritise Breastfeeding: Create Sustainable support Systems.


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Summer is a busy time of year and sometimes when traveling its hard to schedule an in-person appointment and telehealth ...
07/01/2025

Summer is a busy time of year and sometimes when traveling its hard to schedule an in-person appointment and telehealth appointments can be handy alternative.
In general for first appointments we recommend in-person so we can fully evaluate both the breastfeeding parent and infant and identify if any hands on help is needed but for those instances when hands on is not needed telehealth can be very helpful. If interested give us a call to schedule.
Telehealth appointments can be a helpful option to improve access. Interested in reading? Check out the article on telehealth access helping reduce breastfeeding disparities at https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2830786








Family and friend support of breastfeeding makes a difference!Having a partner to celebrate the successes and navigate c...
06/15/2025

Family and friend support of breastfeeding makes a difference!
Having a partner to celebrate the successes and navigate challenges helps tremendously.
Happy Father’s Day!

Thank you parents and families of Northeast Ohio for voting us "Best pregnancy/postpartum care for moms & families" for ...
06/12/2025

Thank you parents and families of Northeast Ohio for voting us "Best pregnancy/postpartum care for moms & families" for the 2025 Parent Choice Awards.
We appreciate all your support and are thrilled to have been able to collaborate with so many families and colleagues over the past year.
Congratulations to the others Parent Choice Awards winners especially our colleagues at Senders Pediatrics winning "Best Pediatric Practice".
For the full list see: https://www.northeastohioparent.com/parent-choice-awards/pca-2025/2025-northeast-ohio-parent-choice-awards-announces-winners/







Breastmilk is amazing on how adapts to the individual and environment. Check out this latest research on how it varies ...
05/27/2025

Breastmilk is amazing on how adapts to the individual and environment. Check out this latest research on how it varies based on infant's s*x.
Previous studies have shown variations in the amount of fat, salt, and amino acids present in milk based on infant s*x.
In this study, 75 milk samples were collected and underwent analysis to measure trace elements including calcium, potassium, sodium, chloride, and iodine, as well as the non-essential elements of aluminium, bromine, and rubinium were analyzed.
Sex-specific differences were noted in the amount of bromine, calcium, and sodium, with all of these elements present in greater amounts in the milk of parents who had given birth to female infants.
This study reinforces that there are s*x-specific differences in the elemental composition of human milk. These differences may be adaptations to meet the specific needs of male and male infants during early growth.
Bromine, for example, is involved in tissue development, and increased sodium levels in human milk may reflect higher electrolyte and hydration needs of newborn females.
It is also possible that some of these variations originate in the pregnant and breastfeeding parent. For example, higher levels of estrogen, which can vary based on fetal s*x, can impact the transfer of certain elements from parent to child.
Transport across the placenta may also be a factor, as male and female placentas are known to express different genes and have different transport abilities.
This study was small, and the authors point to the need for larger studies to determine other factors that could be contributing to these element differences, including parental diet, environmental exposures, and genetics, to optimize infant and parental health and well-being.
For study link see: https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/bfm.2024.0226?journalCode=bfm







Happy Mother's Day - a day to pause and celebrate with the mother's in your life. We hope it is filled with peace and j...
05/12/2025

Happy Mother's Day - a day to pause and celebrate with the mother's in your life. We hope it is filled with peace and joy.







Black Maternal Health Week is celebrated from April 11th through April 17th. This week aims to address the disparities i...
04/17/2025

Black Maternal Health Week is celebrated from April 11th through April 17th. This week aims to address the disparities in maternal health outcomes for Black women in the United States.
A recent analysis from The Common Wealth Fund examined US maternal mortality (highest rate of all countreis) compared to other high-income countries.
Around 66% of maternal deaths occur in the first 42 days after birth. Women in the US are the least likely to have support during this critical time. .
Contributing factors that might explain this increase in mortality include the ~Lack of paid maternity leave and home visits. All other high-income countries included in this study provide at least 14 weeks of paid leave, with many providing more than a year of paid leave.
~The US does not have enough pregnancy providers(ob-gyns and midwives). Studies have shown that midwives can provide care that is comparable to, or sometimes even better than, that provided by ob-gyns. In the US, ob-gyns greatly outnumber midwife providers.
Black women have the highest maternal mortality rate in the US. The authors of this study suspect this is due to several factors, notably that the lack of maternity providers, maternity care coverage, and paid maternity leave disproportionately affect Black women and other women color.
Black women are less likely to be able to take paid leave in the first few months than white women in the US. Black women are more likely to face cost-related barriers to medical care and to lack health insurance.
Although the Affordable Care Act broadened eligibility for Medicaid coverage, this varies state by state. In at least ten states, many women on government-sponsored insurance, have their policies terminated at 60 days postpartum.
The US can learn from international models of maternity care, particularly other countries’ postpartum support and increased access to maternity providers.
For full study see: https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2024/jun/insights-us-maternal-mortality-crisis-international-comparison








Address

2054 S Green Road
South Euclid, OH
44121

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 3pm
Tuesday 8am - 3pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 3pm
Friday 8am - 3pm

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+12162919210

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Dr. Ann Witt is a board-certified family physician with more than a two decades of experience caring for women and children, including both personal and professional experience with breastfeeding. A Cleveland native, Dr. Witt graduated from CWRU School of Medicine and completed additional training in Seattle, WA. Dr. Witt is one of a handful of physicians in Ohio who is IBCLC certified. She is also a Fellow of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine.