baby got bite

Dr. Jill Ghormley started working with mamas and babies while she was in medical school, assisting her classmates between classes to care for their little ones. Her love for this work came from something very personal in her life – her older sister. When her sister was younger, she was told by her doctor she may not be able to get pregnant due to her condition, diagnosed as polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). Her periods were irregular making it harder for conception.

Then according to her sister, a miracle happened and she became pregnant with her son. Her sister had a successful vaginal delivery in the hospital but struggled with breastfeeding. Dr. Ghormley was in graduate school when her nephew was born and wasn’t sure at that time how to assist her sister, accept to do research and be there for her. Dr. Ghormley was exposed to the concept of lip and tongue ties during her research as a medical illustrator. She became fascinated while learning about the vagus nerve connection with
regards to tight oral restrictions leading to difficulties in suck/swallow mechanism.

After her nephew was born, her sister and her husband were trying for another child. They struggled with this process and tried everything for 5 years to get pregnant again. They underwent IVF with no success. Dr. Ghormley watched her sister become depressed and desperately wanting to have a sibling for her son.

While Dr. Ghormley was in medical school, one of her teachers specialized in fertility homeopathy and she approached her. Her sister became a patient of this medical professor and through homeopathy was able to successfully get pregnant with her 2nd child after 5 yrs of trying.

Her pregnancy was smooth but her birth was a difficult one. She labored long with the 2nd child and was told that she would need a cesarean section. Dr. Ghormley was in her 3rd year of medical school and became her sister’s birth advocate while in the hospital negotiating with the OB/GYN on call and labor and delivery nurse. While NDs don’t have hospital privileges, they have great grasps of education and a wealth of anatomical knowledge to understand the process. She fought hard on her sister’s behalf for her to have a vaginal delivery. But at the time, due to short staffing, it was decided that the baby would be delivered via c-section. Dr. Ghormley spoke with the labor and delivery nurse privately (who at the time had 30 years of labor and delivery experience) and was told that the baby was engaged and could have been delivered vaginally with more time. But the the ultimate call came from a fresh out of residency OB/GYN to perform the procedure. Dr. Ghormley was invited into the surgery suite to watch the delivery. This experience set the foundation of Dr. Ghormley’s career without her knowing until several years later.

To further understand birthing processes, Dr. Ghormley enhanced her education through global medicine working with African and S. East Asian midwives and birth doulas because she felt there has to be a better way. Her journey took her through understanding postpartum effects neurologically for the moms and babies and how the birthing process alone sets the foundation for effective development long term. Dr. Ghormley became heavily involved in understanding and researching critical stages of neurological reflexes called primitive reflexes in the first year of life.

Today, Dr Ghormley’s sister has 3 beautiful grown children. Her sister is her inspiration for the work she does today. Her passion is about arming families with the proper tools and information to help their little ones thrive from birth and on. Dr Ghormley’s love is education and researching for the best possible solution and she never stops searching for new and better resources for parents and children.

It is this passion for the mission that has inspired her colleague, Britt Isbell, to join. Being a mama herself, Britt knows all the challenges that go hand in hand in setting up the little ones for success. Go to Britt’s story to find out how she is becoming an AMAZING advocate in the mama and baby community.

Dr. Ghormley provides community-based care in performing frenectomies (C02 laser), craniosacral therapy, pediatric sacral occipital technique and naturopathic physical medicine to help children who have retained primitive reflexes to thrive.