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.

The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine 30th Annual Meeting offered lots of great opportunities for learning and collabora...
11/24/2025

The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine 30th Annual Meeting offered lots of great opportunities for learning and collaborating! This year's special highlight was gathering with a group of Cleveland area colleagues also committed to supporting families prenatally, in the early postpartum, and throughout their breastfeeding journey. It was great to see all of you - Thanks for joining us!⁠⁠
Swipe to check out some of the conference topics we look forward to sharing updates about in the near future.⁠⁠









11/19/2025

Prenatal Question #11: What should I do to protect breastfeeding if I am separated from my baby after delivery?⁠⁠
In general if separated for your medical needs, your baby can be skin to skin with someone else until you are able. When you are feeling up to it you can start hand expressing and if the separation is longer ask for help setting up a breast pump.⁠⁠







Dr Stachowiak and Dr Witt had a great time in San Diego at a recent Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine conference expandi...
11/14/2025

Dr Stachowiak and Dr Witt had a great time in San Diego at a recent Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine conference expanding and fine tuning our OMM body work skills to help breastfeeding families. It was a treat to connect in person with colleagues around the country. Though the true star of the conference was Dr Stachowiak’s newborn daughter who enjoyed snuggles with many at the conference - including the instructors - scroll through the pics to see!

It is often unclear why certain individuals have low milk supply.For  some parents, a lower level of the hormone prolact...
11/04/2025

It is often unclear why certain individuals have low milk supply.
For some parents, a lower level of the hormone prolactin can be reason for low milk supply. There are many galactagogues - supplements and medications used to increase milk supply -that may act to increase prolactin and consequently milk supply including moringa
Moringa, sometimes called the “miracle tree,” is a nutrient-rich galactagogue that is high in vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, and all essential amino acids. It has a positive impact on its growing environment and is considered environmentally sustainable.
Its bioactive compounds, particularly phytosterols and polyphenols, are believed to enhance prolactin levels.
A systematic review looked at 6 available studies on the effect of moringa supplementation postpartum in increasing milk supply. Parents identified in these studies were healthy with an uncomplicated postpartum course and were exclusively breastfeeding. All studies randomly assigned patients to receive moringa supplementation or a placebo and looked at breast milk volume and prolactin levels. All included studies showed an increase in milk supply, ranging from an increase of 135mL/day to up to a 400mL/day increase, over the placebo group.
Prolactin levels also showed an increase among study participants, as well as milk fat content, when this was studied. Although all studies used commercially-available moringa, the exact preparation varied among studies, with dosing varying considerably, as well as the length of treatment. Some studies used only 3 days of moringa supplementation, while another used moringa for up to a month.
Importantly, no parental gastrointestinal or allergic reactions were noted, and no infant side effects were reported. There is much more to learn and know about the effect moringa may have on milk supply, but for now, moringa supplementation seems like a promising natural way to boost milk supply.
For article see: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40724308/








Thank you Bethany for sharing your experience!  Dr. Witt is honored to be able to work with you and  thrilled breastfeed...
10/29/2025

Thank you Bethany for sharing your experience! Dr. Witt is honored to be able to work with you and thrilled breastfeeding improved dramatically.⁠⁠
Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine or OMM for short is a type of hands on treatment that is based on the understanding that our bodies structure impacts function.⁠⁠
OMM is foundational to DO or Doctor of Osteopathy training. Fortunately MD's can also receive this training and we integrate it routinely into our evaluations and treatments especially for infant's with latching difficulties and families experiencing persistent pain with breastfeeding.⁠⁠
We are excited to share that next week Dr. Witt will be attending another conference on osteopathic treatment of the breastfeeding dyad in San Diego as we continue to expand our hands on skill sets. We will post more updates soon.⁠








October is breast cancer awareness month.  Breastfeeding lowers the parent's risk of developing breast cancer.  One meta...
10/24/2025

October is breast cancer awareness month. Breastfeeding lowers the parent's risk of developing breast cancer. One meta-analysis identified the relative risk of breast cancer decreased by 4.3% for every 12 months of breastfeeding on top of the 7% risk for each birth. In particular breastfeeding reduces the risk of Triple‐Negative Breast Cancer (20%) as well as in carriers of BRCA1 mutations (22–50% for those who breastfed more than a year).
Supporting breastfeeding and supporting families as they navigate challenges in the early postpartum is critical to helping reduce the incidence of breast cancer, especially in those with a family history. Check out the reference article for more information: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9972148/

10/17/2025

Prenatal video # 9: What should I expect from my newborn in the first 24 hours.?⁠
Typically is the first 1 to 2 hours after delivery your baby will be at their most awake. This time is often referred to the "golden hour" and why support of skin to skin and taking advantage of this natural awake period is a priority if possible. ⁠⁠
After their initial awake period newborns will often be sleepy for the first day and may not feed as frequently and then on their second day of life you see an increase in feeding frequency often with clustering of feeds. ⁠⁠







It was a delight to talk to families at Babies & Bumps recently ad thank you to all who came to Dr. Witt's presentation ...
10/13/2025

It was a delight to talk to families at Babies & Bumps recently ad thank you to all who came to Dr. Witt's presentation on "Balancing Breastfeeding & Returning to Work." We are also are excited to share that you can meet up with Maya Bolman, RN, IBCLC at Bikur Cholim's upcoming Women’s Health & Wellness Expo 2025 on November 10, 2025, from 6-9:30 PM at Green Road Synagogue ⁠⁠
Additionally, mark your calendars and share with your communities, that our next Prenatal Plus group is Thursday November 20th at 12:30-2:30. The group is FREE but space is limited and pre-registration is required. Th⁠⁠
Prenatal Plus is a great opportunity to learn from: ⁠

~Maya Bolman, RN, IBCLC all sorts of practical tips- like latch, hand expression, and managing engorgement, as you prepare for your breastfeeding journey. ⁠

~Kristen Horvath-Broda M.ED, LPSCC-S tips on mental wellness including preparing for your little-one, building your community, and the transition to parenthood.⁠

~Following the group you also get free access to our 90 minute online breastfeeding class for more details following the group and handy reference for after birth.⁠⁠
Pre-registration is required. Please call 216-230-2154 or email lactation@bfmedneo.com. See Linkin.bio for more details.⁠⁠
We look forward to seeing you there! ⁠







.and.bumps

Newborns have a good sense of smell, recognizing and remembering smells by the time they deliver, and potentially even e...
10/11/2025

Newborns have a good sense of smell, recognizing and remembering smells by the time they deliver, and potentially even earlier, with fetus possibly able to smell in the womb around 28-30 weeks. ⁠⁠
Studies have shown that surrounding newborns with familiar and pleasant smells can be calming, reduce pain, increase sucking, and in the NICU, help with the transition to bottle and breast feeding, reduce length of hospital stay, and improve oxygen levels. Yet there are relatively few studies showing whether being surrounded by comforting smells can also positively affect weight gain. ⁠⁠
The 2025 systematic review by Bilgi et al looked for all studies on this topic, finding 8 studies that were appropriate to be included in this analysis. Most of these studies focused on premature newborns. ⁠⁠
While these studies had different protocols, all infants were exposed to a variety of smells, most commonly the maternal scent or maternal milk odor scent. A few studies also looked at cinnamon, anise, vanilla, and formula scents. ⁠⁠
While only 3 of these studies showed a clear association between improved weight gain and giving newborns dedicated opportunities for pleasant smells, it suggests that there may be a benefit to newborns to be exposed more consistently to parental and parental milk scents to help improve weight gain, particularly in premature infants. ⁠⁠
This could be a topic for future studies and a potentially simple way to help increase weight gain in hospitalized newborns. For all infants, this study also supports the importance and benefits of skin to skin, which inherently allows newborns unlimited access to the warmth and smell of their parent. ⁠⁠
For full study see Linkin.bio⁠









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09/29/2025

Prenatal Question #8 Why is skin to skin recommended after delivery?
Skin to skin helps stabilize your newborn's temperature, normalizes blood oxygen, heart rate, respiratory, and blood sugar. It also helps establish continued connection delivery and immediate skin to skin awakens your little one's instincts and captures their awake period and instinct to find the breast.
Also remember if there are medical reasons you need to be separated after delivery, baby can be skin to skin with another parent or caregiver and these benefits of skin to skin continue to be present long after delivery and will be present when you and your infant are stable and able to be together again after a period of separation.








Pump use is common in the U.S.  While pumping is increasingly common, it's not clear whether pumping extends or decrease...
09/23/2025

Pump use is common in the U.S.
While pumping is increasingly common, it's not clear whether pumping extends or decreases the amount of breastmilk babies receive in their first year.
The study by Nardella et al used information collected by a multi-state survey of postpartum parents, sometime from 10 to 40 weeks postpartum, assessing their experiences prenatally and during the postpartum period. 19,780 people were included in the study. The study did not quantify frequency of pumping.
Study participants had an average age of 30 years old and were majority non-Hispanic White. 53% were privately insured and approximately 41% were privately insured. A majority (70%) of individuals were eligible for WIC benefits. Over 90% of individuals reported using a pump.
Researchers found that individuals who had ever used a pump were less likely to stop breastfeeding. Parents who used a pump provided breastmilk to their babies for on average 34 weeks, while those that did not use a pump were only likely to breastfeed for 13 weeks on average.
This study also found that parents who are non-Hispanic Black and Native American were more likely to continue breastfeeding if they used a pump. These populations have historically seen lower breastfeeding rates.
Receiving a pump through insurance and using a pump during lactation is increasingly common for US parents, thanks to the increase in pump access through the Affordable Care Act. While there are many details concerning pump use that this study is not able to determine - notably pumping frequency, as well as other barriers to breast milk feeding, such as early return to work, social and lactation supports - it seems to suggest that pump use in the US is associated with breastmilk feeding duration and access to this benefit remains important.
For study details see: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39004167/







09/15/2025

Prenatal Series question # 7: When does my milk come in?
You have milk after delivery, it's called colostrum! Your milk volume increases around 3 days postpartum when your infant is needing more volume. If you have concerns or you are not seeing an increase in your milk production we are happy to see you.








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

Telephone

+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.