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Infant Services

Does your baby have an open-mouth posture or mouth breathing? Do you have concerns about tethered oral tissues? Are you looking for what you can do to help improve sleep, feeding, breathing, and functional movement of the whole body? 

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You may have noticed issues such as

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  • Struggles with breast and/or
    bottle-feeding skills 

  • Difficulty maintaining a latch 

  • Nipple pain/damage

  • Leaking milk from the side of the mouth 

  • Two-tone lips or blisters

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  • Poor coordination of sucking, swallowing, breathing

  • Coughing or gagging

  • Clicking or noisy feeding 

  • Unsettled during feedings

  • Prefers feeds better from one side over the other

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  • Sleepy feedings

  • Open mouth posture at rest

  • Mouth breathing or snoring while sleeping

  • Poor weight gain

You may have noticed other symptoms like

  • Body asymmetries/ body curvature 

  • Body tension 

  • Head tilt

  • Head turning preference 

  • Head shape concerns

  • Struggles with tummy time

  • Development concerns

  • Reflux

  • Colic

  • Gastrointestinal issues

  • Tethered oral tissues, a.k.a tongue/ lip/ buccal ties

  • Lots of gas and/or spitting up

  • High arched palate 

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Myo Matters is here to help you! 

Having a baby with feeding difficulties, developmental delays and oral ties can be stressful and many parents don’t know where to start. The internet can be helpful at times but also can be super overwhelming, especially for new parents. We are here to listen to your concerns and help you build your team and develop a treatment plan that meets your goals for both your baby and family.

What We Help With

  • Baby’s oral motor skills for bottle and breastfeeding 

  • Establish proper oral rest posture

  • Bottle Selection 

  • Pre and post therapy tongue, lip, and/or buccal ties

  • Body tightness

  • Body alignment 

  • Head turning preference and head tilt (torticollis) 

  • Head molding issues (plagiocephaly) 

  • Tummy Time

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1 / Free Consultation
First, we offer a free consultation via zoom where you can voice your concerns and determine if our services are a good fit for you and your baby. 
2 / Your Evaluation Appointment
Next, we set up an evaluation in person or via Zoom to determine the root cause. A care plan will be determined that focuses on your individualized goals through compassionate care and using a holistic lens that best suits you and your baby’s needs. 
3 / A Treatment Plan Tailored to Your Needs
We want to meet you and your baby where you are based on your needs. Once a plan has been created the treatment sessions will focus on your functional goals while collaborating with your baby’s lataction provider, physical therapist, chiropractor, CST, osteopath, pediatric dentist, ENT, pediatrician, and/or sleep educator. 
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WHAT PEOPLE SAY
My daughter, Mayven, was first seen by Dr. Emily when she was about 2 months old for issues related to breastfeeding, latching, reflux, and overall irritability. Emily worked with her and identified some tension issues that were contributing to her symptoms. Dr. Emily did stretches and exercises with her, as well as identified a lip tie that was making breastfeeding difficult for her. Dr. Emily got her ready for her tie removal through oral play exercises that I continued at home. Mayven got her lip tie removed and after a couple of weeks her breastfeeding struggles were resolved! She is a happy and energetic 7 month old who is crawling and trying to walk already! Dr. Emily and the staff at Anderson Dental were kind, professional, and very knowledgeable on the topic of oral ties and tension issues in infants!
—  DT
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About Me

Dr. Emily Hawkins

I am Emily, an occupational therapist and mama myself who has been through this process.  I enjoy spending time with my family, traveling, exploring outdoors, boating and watching Iowa Hawkeye Sports. 

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As a mom and OT, I am passionate about supporting individuals with informed decision making for their needs. I strive to provide services that support healthy outcomes for each person, baby and their family. 

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I pursued specializing in myofunctional therapy and training with newborns and infants after going through my own journey with myself and my baby. I saw that there was a need that needed to be filled in this area and I wanted to be a part of this movement. Therapy is oftentimes overlooked when it comes to tongue/lip/buccal releases and addressing the function is just as important, if not, more than releasing the restriction. Plus the earlier the invention the better and faster we get results.

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I earned my Doctor of Occupational Therapy from Drake University and my B.A. in Health and Human Physiology from University of Iowa. I have specialty training in myofunctional therapy through MyoMentor with Sarah Hornsby, and training with newborns and infant therapy with Michelle Emanuel’s pre/post frenectomy therapy, and infant pelvic floor.

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