@mathanxuety. Thank you for the second, more balanced article. I absolutely agree that the diagnosis of tongue tie is on the rise. However, I work with women postnatally, and I disagree that this stems from a monetary aspect (unlike the author of your first article who was using this to sell her own programme).
Firstly, more often than not, the initial opinion or diagnosis (if qualified to do so) comes from either a midwife or BF counsellor, neither of whom are usually able to divide the TT themselves and certainly make no money from it. It will get referred to a LC. Secondly, one half hour appointment for the division of a TT (if done privately) costs usually between £100 and £200 and is a often a one-off payment. Alternatively, it is free on the NHS, but often women prefer to avoid the wait. In contrast to this, if a women pays to see a LC for BF support, the sessions are often more frequent and last longer. LCs charge by the hour usually. It would probably be more in their interest not to divide the TT, vif money was the goal.
I think you really need to understand in detail quite how TTs cause problem in order to appreciate why a women will choose to get a division. I can only go into it very briefly, but... A mild TT for example, may cause the baby no feeding issues in so far as they get plenty of milk and gain weight. However, this can still cause a lot of pain for the mother. In the past, mothers were probably just expected to suck it up or switch to formula. But women are rightly not content with this pain or lack of choice anymore.
Secondly, with a moderate TT, again, babies may be able to extract the milk if they adapt their technique. However, any deviation away from the optimum technique often causes babies to grow very tired very quickly. They fall asleep before having had a full feed, wake up starving and more exhausted, try to feed, again too tired, and with each feed, they lose more energy and become more tired. And so the vicious cycle continues.
With a severe TT, a baby is simply unable to find a technique that works to access the milk and they starve, without intervention. And yes, posterior ties are very real too. A baby cannot raise their tongue (causing a classic U shape instead of a straight line when they cry). This means breast compression by the tongue is more difficult and more tiring, again causing the baby to tire before a feed and to drop weight quickly (if severe enough).
The rise of a diagnosis for TT is, I hope, because women are more aware of their rights and choices to not just 'put up with it'.
And interestingly, there is some evidence to suggest that TTs are on the rise as a result of folic acid prescribed in pregnancy. Although this should never put a women off taking it, and the alternative can be much worse, of course.