How available is a tongue tie division service in your area?

[Midice]

I am really interested in how many breastfeeding mums have been able to access someone who divides tongue ties when needed. Have you gone NHS or private and were you happy with the result. Has it made a difference? My experience is it is very difficult to find someone locally when you need to. Tell me about your experience please.

[HarrietJones]

According to the list I saw on here yesterday the nearest is Manchester. I'm in Cumbria , 2 counties away
I assume local hospital does it although dd3 has a small one and I only found out from my maternity notes. She's not had it done but it doesn't cause any problems.
We are currently wondering if it has done itself as she has just started sticking her tongue out

[coraltoes]

I went private to avoid the wait, but here in London there are a few options

[CrapolaDeVille]

NHS...but both children done under a general at around a year.

[TruthSweet]

I'm a peer supporter and the route for referral for TT is quite short technically though I've no experience of it happening as the only people I've seen with a TT (that I have suspected have either gone down on to speak to the MW* who has pooh poohed the idea of having a TT cut or have not wanted to have a referral. I have seen one baby who had a text book heart shaped tongue and gently asked if the mother had had the baby checked for TT as there were some indications that it might be a possibility. Yes, and had it cut was the reply!

If a TT was suspected by a bfps then they would ask the HCP in charge of the bfing group to have a look and then a referral would be made to the TT MW Clinic at the area's large hospital. The TT MW would call the mother and arrange an appointment. There are two clinics a week I believe.

*the MW was not affiliated with the bfing support group I hasten to add.

[QueenOfFeckingEverything]

It isn't, basically

DS had a significant TT, which I noticed when he was three hours old. Two paediatricians in the hospital tried to tell me it didn't exist, and only when I made a Big Fuss did a midwife agree that I was right. But they claimed that in this area (Gwent NHS trust) they only snip if it causes a speech impediment.

I made Even More Fuss (just what I needed after giving birth to a 10lb baby after induction) and they reluctantly made an appointment to see a consultant for three weeks later - not to snip it though, just to 'see how things are then'.

Got home, started ringing round. Turned out we'd have to go 40 miles to get it snipped and the surgeon would ONLY accept referrals from the NHS BFC, whose weekly surgery was also 40 miles away and who would want to see us twice before referring DS 'to avoid unnecessary intervention'.

We gave up and paid to have it done privately. We had to borrow the money (£150).

Its a fucking outrage that it is not taken seriously everywhere.

[MamaChocoholic]

recently in Cambridge, my mw referred me to bedford. appt in about a week. fantastic, except when we got there the doc said he "didn't believe in" posterior tt and some babies "just can bf".

asked gp to refer me to local Cambridge hospital, she refused on the grounds weight gain was ok (my pain irrelevant).

in the end both babies had tt cut privately by lactation consultant.

3 years ago in London, all mw said there was no tt. gp referred me to local hospital but had no idea who to write to and I never heard back. a bf counsellor who was also a lactation consultant diagnosed tt and referred me to the Royal Free who ran a midwife led tt clinic where ds1's was cut at 6 weeks.

[Amaretti]

Interesting that people are saying Manchester. We are pretty local to there and when my DN was born with a TT 6 years ago my DB was told they would have to go ti Portsmouth. Or was it Southampton. Bloody miles away, anyway.

[RitaMorgan]

Bristol - got an appointment in about a week after it was noticed by a midwife. Doctor at the clinic had a quick look, recommended we have it done immediately and snipped it. DS was 3 weeks old.

[blackbirdfly]

I live in Milton Keynes. Got the details for the Luton and Dunstable breastfeeding support as I knew they specialised in tongue tie division.

Seen on the Friday, tongue separated something like the following Tuesday (can't quite remember). Very quick, all done on the NHS.

Didn't save our breastfeeding relationship sadly but that was purely because I didn't go to see them til DD was 4 months, as when I asked my visiting m/w if DD had one when she was ten days old she said definitely not [anger] and by the time we got it snipped DD was on a lot of formula as well as mixed feeding.

But the service at L&D was fabulous. Terrible really that I wouldnt have known about it without mumsnet.

[QueenOfFeckingEverything]

RitaMorgan - we are closer to Bristol than to Cardiff where we would have been sent [rolleyes]

I spoke to them in Bristol and they would have done it the next day for DS but only if my NHS trust had agreed to fund it, which they wouldn't

[NormanTebbit]

In Glasgow, 10 days in, I cried in front of my midwife while trying to latch on DD3 and she took her over to the window looked in her mouth and told me she had a TT.

She then got straight on the phone to Yorkhill and I was seen the next day in Neonatal ICU and it was snipped by a surgeon. I then got mastitis...twice...

This was after 10 days of hell in which I had been given a sodding bf DvD to help with positioning and latch. This was the third baby I had breastfed and I could not work out what I was doing wrong. I was flummoxed and upset. She had terrible wind and never slept. I had two other children to look after too. It was awful and could have been avoided if they had checked and dealt with it at birth.

[baileyslover]

Midwife picked up TT at initial check, was referred to TT specialist midwife. Saw her at 10d old, 1 hour drive away. As DS had multiple milk blisters MW was happy to snip there and then. Very unstressful. DS was feeding reasonably well before snip and didn't notice a huge difference after, but had been warned that sometimes a TT can have delayed effect so v happy that had done as it was so straight forward. We are in Wiltshire/ Bath NHS areas

[Spagbolagain]

DS had his done at 2weeks, a week after we requested it.
Community mw referred us to ENT clinic at hospital, doctor did it and the whole thing took about 10 seconds. DS didn't even wake up properly.

Ask your mw what the referral pathway is and insist on being done early. The longer they leave it, the more complicated it is therefore they have a vested interest in doing it quickly.

Definitely improved latch for us. It is completely no big deal at all, I can't imagine why some drs are refusing it, there are no risks afaik (what consultant said)

[fotheringhay]

Very quick for me too in Bristol - was noticed at on day 10, snipped within 48 hours (Southmead hospital). It's so simple to do, it ought to be easily available for everyone.

[guiltyparent]

Nottingham. Had it done by lactation consultant. Definitely improved latch and we are now still bf at 16 months. I can't remember how much it cost but somewhere near £150.

[plupervert]

This is crazy. I'm hoping not to have a TT with No 2, as I fed DS1 so successfully, and was even planning to put it in my birth plan, to check for the TT. How the hell is a baby supposed to feed if the referrals take so long?!

[theborrower]

Sick Kids in Edinburgh. DD was snipped at 7 and a half weeks, having been referred at 5 weeks by the BFing clinic that I had been going to since she was 1 week old. BUT 'TT noted' was written on my hospital discharge notes (midwives in hospital noted it but all disagreed on whether it was an issue or not) and nothing was done about it. What's the point in noting it if no action is taken? I was in hospital for 4 days (EMCS) and not once could anyone get DD to latch. She first latched when she was a week old, and didn't start to do so regularly until she was 3 weeks. It was between 3 and 5 weeks that it was noted that she wasn't feeding efficiently (lost weight), hence the referral. Although the BFing clinic also mentioned it at our first appointment...

[KaraStarbuckThrace]

I live in Teesside. Nearest surgeon who will snip a TT is at the RVI in Newcastle, 50 miles away
Hope DC2 won't have this problem. If he does we would probably look at going private, however that is all very well for us because we can afford it, very unfair on those who can't - we live in an area where there is quite a high level of unemployment, due to the massive decline in the area of the steel and chemical industries.

Days gone by MWs would keep one finger nail sharp to cut it, if necessary.

[faverolles]

I noticed ds's tt. The mw's and paeds dismissed it as never being a problem for babies.
Went to see the GP at 4 weeks, he was very dismissive as DS was gaining weight. Was very disbelieving that I had pain, even though I offered to show him my permanently lipstick shaped nipples with White at the ends, and offered to demonstrate a feed to show him what hard work it was (he declined) he reluctantly referred DS.
The nearest hospital that would look was 40 miles away, and we had to see the paed there, who then referred us on again.
DS eventually had it snipped when he was 12 weeks. He feeds fine now, but for whatever reason is still significantly tongue tied.

I would like to see a time when all babies are checked routinely at (or shortly after) birth for tt, and for it to be snipped before it can become a problem.

[TittyBojangles]

Docs at hospital missed DS's TT despite me making a point of mentioning it (having read so much on MN about it effecting bf). My community midwife noticed on day 5 but said it was minor, although was happy to refer us to the ENT clinic to rule it out as an issue with our bf problems. It was snipped on day 8. This is at my local hospital (Lancaster). NHS. I had no idea this wasn't a service available to all babies. It sounds like we had it very easy compared to lots of you.

[browneyesblue]

Had to hire private LC to diagnose, as MWs, GPs and HVs kept telling me there wasn't one. Was also told that it didn't matter, as even if DS did have one they didn't treat them in my area.

Was referred to South London and I live in Hertfordshire - not exactly convenient, but worth it.

[Midice]

Have now discovered the Lactation COnsultant list on the Lactation Consultant of GB site and the NHS list on UNICEF BFI website. Appears that it is becoming easier to get done as more are getting trained. Shame it is such a contraversial topic. I wonder how many midwives/dorctors have successfully breastfed a tongue tied baby. I think they would soon change their minds!

[plupervert]

I have a friend whose DD was a tongue-tied, and the agonies she went through, trying to keep up breastfeeding! Thrush, mastitis, lack of sleep as she fed and pumped throughout the day and night. She was seeing a lactation consultant, and her mother helped, too, but although I am very pro breastfeeding, I think she should have given up long before she did, as it was simply a crazy way to carry on in the already-stressful newborn period. I felt like giving her a loving - but hard - slap, and that's quite sad, as she wouldn't have been in that position, and I wouldn't have been so frustrated with her, if the TT had been sorted immediately (rather thn, as it seems, too late to reform bad latch habits) and not caused problems!

[Whenisitmysleepytime]

Bristol do it.
BUT you need one if the infant feeding team to diagnose and snip. The mw will look and tell you there is/ isn't one but ime 7/7 mw didn't spot dd's massive one!

We got referred to Southampton to see specialist as it keeps re growing. It cost £90 for people outside that PCT to have it done but our PCT say they will fund it. Waiting to see if they stick to that.

I am very angry that 'breast is best' but only if it doesn't cost your PCT anything. IMO if your PCT won't fund it they should support you in paying for formula (if you chose to ff) as feeding with a tt is a form of torture!