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This article caught my eye as both my youngest two boys were born tongue tied. We did have Kaiden’s tongue tie operated on when he was 6 months old but we decided to leave Kody’s after having an appointment with the consultant who assured us it was not as bad as we thought.
While Kaiden was unable to move his tongue at all, which hindered his feeding as a small baby, Kody had 90% control over his tongue.
Watching while my 6 month old baby was put to sleep while laid in my eyes was still at the back of my mind. Did I really want to put my other son through this?
It took us a few weeks to agree to leave it and see what happened, there was a worry this tongue tie would effect his speach. At 9 months old Kody suddenly stuck his tongue right out. It had cut itself.
What is it?
For a relatively minor congenital problem, there is some controversy about tongue-ties.
Tongue-ties affect 3%-10% of newborns and are diagnosed when the baby is checked over by the midwife or doctor. The tongue is usually only loosely connected to the floor of our mouths, but in tongue-tie the tissue connecting the two (called the frenulum) is shorter and tighter. It can vary from a thin membrane that can break naturally, to a thick and fibrous tissue that restricts normal movement. Most tongue-tie is mild and stretches as the baby grows.
Professor Mitch Blair, a consultant and officer for health promotion at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, says tongue-ties used to be routinely snipped, but some doctors now think the risk of infection and tongue damage means babies should be watched, not automatically cut.
But watched for what? They may have problems breastfeeding, be unable to suck properly, fail to put on weight and give their mothers sore nipples. They may struggle with bottles because their mouths can’t form a seal round the teat. Tongue-tie might also interfere with speech development (lisps or mispronouncement of Ls as Ws). There are studies showing that adults with tongue-tie have problems licking ice-creams or kissing. So is it better to snip the frenulum just in case?
The solution
In 2006, health watchdog Nice concluded there was controversy about the significance of tongue-tie and that only children whose tongue-tie is causing problems should have frenulotomy. So, first of all find out if the tongue-tie is affecting feeding. A doctor or expert in breastfeeding should watch feeding to see if the tongue-tie is causing problems. There isn’t always a correlation between what the tongue-tie looks like and what it does. A survey of lactation consultants and paediatricians found the former much more likely to blame tongue-tie for poor feeding, so advice may differ. Some doctors wait to see if the baby is losing weight, while others think this is going too far. The frenulotomy, however, should be done using local anaesthetic by an experienced operator. One study, comparing frenulotomy with 48 hours of support from a lactation consultant, found 19 out of 20 babies had better breastfeeding 48 hours after frenulotomy, compared with one in 20 whose mother had the support. Even allowing for some bias – a mother who allowed frenulotomy may be more motivated to say it worked – the number is still high. Complications are rare but include ulcers under the tongue, bleeding, infection or damage to the tongue and salivary ducts.
Blair advises that if feeding is OK (and the tongue-tie not very thick) you should leave it alone as long as the baby can stick his or her tongue out so it reaches its teeth, because if they are able to, they are unlikely to have speech problems. Babies can generally do this in the first month, but even if they can’t, speech problems are not inevitable because frenulums can often stretch.
The article is from The Guardian
About The Real Supermum
ive thought it was a simple operation, and if it will help ur baby talk, drink and eat ect then why not, but i guess if its not effectig them at all then i wouldnt bother puttig them thru it,
I’ve always wondered what exactly tongue tie was, this has cleared up a lot of misconceptions in my mind!
My mum is still tounge tied and my brother was and he had the operation to untie it… Health visitors thought my eldest was tounge tied but turns out he wasn’t but if it was affecting there drinking/eating then I would xx
If it it affecting every day life for them then yes. If they can still drink etc then no. Should only be done as last resort x
If it affected feeding then yes I’d do it in a heart beat and if I’m honest if it’s gonna effect speech I’d do it too. I grew up with a speech impediment and my childhood was made hell with bullying due to it
I suppose if its for the best then yes, if it is affecting feeding & what not then obviously its going to make life easier for the child, my brother is 15 and she cant pronounce his r’s and he had a few problems with bullies but its what makes him him x
I think if its affecting the child in eating, drinking talking and that then yess if not then no need to put them thru it at all xx
Agree xx
I have 2 friends who have tongue tie as well as my friends 5 year old and eventually you are able to speak the same and adapt around it. I see no need for it to be cut at all xx
my son was badly tounge tied untill 16 months. the hv, doctors, peadatricians and speech an language threapist kept telling me that it wasnt affecting him on one bit that it was all in my head. my son couldnt feed properly, drink properly and choked a fair bit when eating. i couldnt even feed him lumps properly as it got stuck on the roof of his mouth and obvs couldnt move it himself. also my son didnt say much at all, so it affected his speech to a degree. i forced my doctor to send us for the op eventually when my son was 16 months old we got it done. he is now feeding an drinking so much better an is even trying to talk, hes 3 an a half now hes moderatly deaf which we found out earlier this year which hasnt helped his speech but thanks to having the tounge tie cut has improved ever so slightly. so in some cases it is best to have it done. but i do not agree with mums who do it just because they want it done. its a horrible thing to have to watch your baby go through an op for anything so theres no need to unesicarrly put them through an op
I had never come across a child that is tongue tided but this has really helped me realise the process etc and if I had a child who was tongue tided I would also go ahead with the op x
I think if the tongue-tie as causing feeding issues and weight loss, then yes the operation should go ahead, but if it is not as bad and doesnt affect their lives then maybe a little time should be given to see whether it stretches/cuts itself. x
im very imbarrest as i havnt heard of this before xx but if causing proplems eg feeding them maybe its best for the op xx
I don’t know much about it, all i know is my friends little boy was born with it, And he didn’t have the operation xx