Holly Churcher, BSc RGN RM IBCLC
I have been a Registered General Nurse and Registered Midwife for over 35 years, working in the NHS. For the last 20 years I have been a Community Midwife at St George’s Hospital, and understand the crucial necessity of – often poorly resourced - good postnatal care and breastfeeding support.
In order to better help mothers and babies better with breastfeeding, I undertook Lactation Consultant training and became an IBCLC in 2011.
Tongue-tie seemed to be a common issue for mothers and babies struggling with feeding, so—wanting to know more – in 2014, I took a Tongue-tie Division course in Frome, Somerset. I joined the Tongue-tie Clinic at King’s College Hospital shortly afterwards and have been working there ever since, as a Lactation Consultant and Tongue-tie Practitioner.
Tongue-tie is not the only cause of breastfeeding problems, and attachment and positioning of the baby at the breast should always be addressed first. However it is common enough to warrant its being diagnosed or ruled out, and performance of frenulotomy (tongue-tie division) when necessary.
In 2025 I completed the University of Wolverhampton’s Advanced Clinical Skills in Tongue Tie (Ankyloglossia) Management course —a comprehensive Masters-level course, one of only two University Tongue-tie courses in the UK.
I have three daughters, whom I successfully breastfed, and four grandchildren— so I understand on a personal level the large number of challenges we can face on our breastfeeding journey.
I am looking forward to joining the team at the Centre for Breastfeeding Education and Research to assist on the Lactation Consultant course.