The Missing Link

Joan Comrie has dedicated her career to pediatric dysphagia - feeding and swallowing disorders in infants and children.  Her expertise comes from hands-on evaluation and treatment of over 5,000 patients in hospitals and private practice.  She has worked in the NICU, PICU, consulted to many health organizations worldwide, and has had her own private practice for the last 20+ years.  Joan uses a medical, evidence-based approach, that is infant/child driven and incorporates the family's feeding goals.

When Joan’s first child was born pre-term, he was admitted to the same NICU where she was also working at the time.  Her son had medical complications due to premature lungs, so he required intubation, OG-tube and then NG-tube feedings and subsequently had breastfeeding difficulties.  After receiving lactation services with Mary Rose Tully, IBCLC, he became a successful breastfeeder.  With Mary Rose’s lactation expertise and Joan’s feeding and swallowing expertise, a team was born!   Working together, they helped many babies becomes successful breastfeeders.   This experience was the impetus in Joan’s interest in working with breastfeeding infants with feeding/swallowing difficulty.

Joan has been working with and training LC’s for 25 years.  She has spoken at International Lactation Consultant Association Conferences, The Art of Breastfeeding, Sentara L.A.T.C.H Conference, Developmental Interventions in Neonatal Care, and the NOMAS International Conference.  She has guest lectured for The Mary Rose Tully Training Initiative (MRT-TI) - Carolina Global Breastfeeding Institute at UNC-Chapel Hill and lectured for the Lactation Consultant Comprehensive Review Course.  Her “Wiggle Worm Exercise” is described in Catherine Watson Genna’s book “Supporting Sucking Skills in Breastfeeding Infants”.  Joan’s articles on feeding difficulties in breastfed infants have been published in parenting magazines and in the health section of various newspapers.  

Her extensive experience as a speech pathologist specializing in pediatric feeding and swallowing disorders allows her to pair her professional knowledge and expertise with lactation consultants to help babies learn to successfully breastfeed.