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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

help! new mum with tongue tie baby, need some advice on whether to snip (ouch!)

60 replies

eca · 30/04/2007 12:57

I've just had 1st baby (12 days old) and noticed he has a tongue tie. MW confirmed it, but said they don't tend to snip them anymore and advised just to mention it to GP at his 6wk check.

But my friend who's a mw and breastfeeding counsellor said that actually it's probably better to get it snipped (and she could refer me to get it done) especially if I want to bf (which I am).

I've started to get cracked bleeding nipples on one side and both are very sore and bruised and both mw and bf counsellor said it was probably because of the tongue tie.

What should I do people? Any advice would be gratefully received. I understand it can also cause speech probs?

OP posts:
magnolia1 · 30/04/2007 13:02

Ds1 had tongue tie, we didn't realise until problems with b/f got worse and went to a b/f councellor. He had it snipped at 5 weeks and it helped with the b/f. They don't always snip it but if it's affecting b/f then it's worth it. Very quick procedure, ds1 didn't even flinch!!

HandbagAddiction · 30/04/2007 13:07

I can't believe you've been told that they no longet get routinely snipped these days - that's appalling advice! There are varying degrees of a tongue tie - some bad and some not so bad. The same can be said of the implications with speech, feeding, etc. Some babies can be badly affected and some hardly at all. The problem is that you don;t know how badly your baby may or may not be affected until it actually is affected - if that makes sense.

It is certainly more difficult to snip a tongue tie the older a child becomes. At 12 days old, it is a procedure that is done without any anaesthetic, takes about 2 minutes max and you feed your baby straight afterwards which assists in the healing process. So for dd2, I took her at 2.5 weeks to get hers done and she was away from me for about 4 minutes, there was no blood and she didn't cry.

The older they get, the greater the likelihood that will need anaesthetic and the healing process will take longer.

Some people with tongue ties manage fine with life, have no speech problems, etc. etc. I just didn;t want to take the risk for what was a very simple thing to solve - think children not being able to stick their tongues out, lick ice cream properly, kiss, move food around their mouths properly, clear food from the back of their mouths, 'possible' speech issues?!

There's a lot of good advice around and an old thread under health on the exact same subject I think.

Personally, it was the best decision possible for dd2 and me and I don;t regret it for a minute.

Original poster
eca · 30/04/2007 17:32

thanks mag1 & HA.

can i ask - do you know why they don't need anaesthetic when they're younger? Is it because they can't give it them so young, or it doesn't hurt them so much?

OP posts:
MorocconOil · 30/04/2007 17:47

My DD had her frenulem snipped at 6 weeks. The procedure took a second and there were about 3 drops of blood. A local anaesthetic would have been more traumatic than the actual procedure. My DD fed straight after the procedure and it was such a relief. All the pain around feeding disappeared instantly as she was able to latch on properly. I would not hesitate to go ahead with it if I was ever in that situation again.

MuffinMclay · 30/04/2007 21:10

DS had this and was snipped at about 6 weeks (I think, that period is all a bit hazy). We both really struggled to bf, and I was desperate to try anything. The bf counsllor suggested it, and hv made some calls to get us seen straight away.
In all honesty, it didn't make the slightest difference to us (and I admitted defeat at 12 weeks and went onto ff), but it didn't bother him at all to have it done so I still think it was worth a try.
It was a very quick procedure indeed, done with a local anaesthetic. He did one little cry and then was fine.

Hulababy · 30/04/2007 21:14

My little niece had tongue tie and it was affecting her ability to breast feed. The found it very early on luckily. They opted to go private (also told they not done now) and have it snipped. It was a very quick op, done without anesthetic I believe. Cost them £50 IIRR.

Pruni · 30/04/2007 21:17

Message withdrawn

mears · 30/04/2007 21:18

here is some information for you

Your midwife is not actually up to date with this - the advice certainly used to be not to do it, but there has been a change in management. Our unit will refer to have tongue-tie divided. HTH.

NappiesGalore · 30/04/2007 21:24

i had ds3 done - his tongue tie was mild but enough to give me sore nips and have him feeding for longer as he was not getting a good satisfying feed with a good latch.

i think, when they are so young, it barely even registers - mine didnt even cry - and you and they are so feckin releived to get a good latch and stop pulling yr goddam nips off ... maybe its softer and easier to snip when younger? i think so..

i was actually preety miffed that no-one suggested it with ds1 as in hindsight im pretty sure that was the prob with him... and i would, without hesitation, have it done with any further babies.

good luck - and dont let anyone put you off. it is SO worth it!!

Pruni · 30/04/2007 21:33

Message withdrawn

mears · 30/04/2007 21:36

I always still check for it Pruni - maybe I should start growing a nail

ChippyMinton · 30/04/2007 21:36

My niece's was identified but she wasn't referred due to an oversight. She had to have a general anaesthetic to have it done, which was more worrying than the tongue-tie. Have it done, the earlier the better.

Pruni · 30/04/2007 21:37

Message withdrawn

NappiesGalore · 30/04/2007 21:59

my ace midwife for ds3 found ds3's. i LOVE that woman

MARGOsBeenPlayingWithMyNooNoo · 30/04/2007 22:06

that dd1 never had anything done to hers. there is a difference of 2 lb in my dds weights at 21 weeks - only 2 oz at birth.

If they had snipped, I may have carried on b/f

Twinklemegan · 30/04/2007 22:25

Oh eca I sympathise. I only found out my DS had tongue tie when he was 5 months and breastfeeding had already gone very badly wrong indeed (we had given up altogether a couple of weeks previously). I was gutted when I found out, but then the HV told me that they wouldn't have snipped it even if it had been spotted. Knowing how horrendous it was trying to breastfeed DS I would definitely have gone private to get it done, so if you CAN get it done on the NHS then go for it. Sooner rather than later is better though, so I would see your GP ASAP.

On a positive note though, DS is now 9 months and his tongue tie snapped of it's own accord a few weeks ago.

NappiesGalore · 30/04/2007 22:26

am a bit at it not being sorted more often for more people, really. and im not given to general anger at the injunstices of the world, well, not all of them anyway (too tired). ds3's snip made it possible and happy experience to carry on bf'ing to 8mos. id be sad if i had stopped earlier.

Mercy · 30/04/2007 22:34

Have only read the OP, sorry.

My mum, my brother and I are all tongue-tied. Both breast and bottle feeding were a complete nightmare for my mum. Cutting wasn't considered in our day (although my mum had an unsuccessful op when she was tiny - many, many years ago now!).

Just as importantly if not more so, none of us have or have had any speech problems.

magnolia1 · 30/04/2007 22:44

some areas use a local, we had the choice either go to the hospital and have a local or go to the breastfeeding clinic and a b/f counsellor who was trained to snip the tongue tie would do it.

Carameli · 30/04/2007 23:14

just seen you message and am off to bed so have not read through all the other messages. But definitely get it done. Where are you? I was refered to St Georges in Tooting and they were fabulous.
For me it made such a difference to how ds bf. If you want to ask any more questions just email me and I will try and help you.

magnolia1 · 30/04/2007 23:21

Carameli: Thats where we went to have ds1's done

twentypence · 01/05/2007 00:15

It seems to be more standard in NZ - I know loads of babies that have had it snipped. I don't know any that have left it.

Original poster
eca · 01/05/2007 13:35

thanks so much everyone for your replies. I tell you I don't know what I'd do with out my MN people!! Dh is in awe of you all!

Have to say I'm pleased I spotted it so early, so that we can get it done while he's really young. Bit disappointed that the mw seems to be out of date with her info. My nips are really painful, but I was thinking that was your usual pain that would go after a while. Now I think it's to do with this.

Thank goodness I have a friend who suggested snipping, which made me ask on here! TBH I was reluctant when she first suggested it (1st time mum and all that, as well as a bit squemish!) but having looked around and all your responses i think we will try to get it done.

My friend (bf counsellor) said she can get us refered to a doc in Norwich (I'm in Norfolk, so not far) without even having to go through the GP. She did say some bf counsellors are trained to do it, but she's not yet. And Pruni, she also said about the nail thing!

OP posts:
Original poster
eca · 01/05/2007 13:52

mears - just read through that info. It's really helpful, thank you so much xx

OP posts:
helenhismadwife · 02/05/2007 17:09

here are a list of locations where it is done, I think you need to be refered either by a midwife, gp or hv. Both my youngest dd's had this and I cried more than they did it literally took seconds and feeding was so much easier after

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