Upper lip tie

[LouiseEH]

Has anyone had problems with upper lip tie when breastfeeding?

If so did you manage to get it treated either on the nhs or privately?

ds is 14 now but born with a lip tie and he really struggled latching on and consequently fed constantly as he could only get limited milk out. My own GP wouldn't help and I even took him to my dentist who it would eventualy stretch. Even the Laleche bf advisor couldn't help

After months of struggling I was very happy when I weaned him at 7 months and he drank milk from a sippy cup

If I could go back in time I would insist on help ; his lip tie was very thick and strong and his front teeth had a massive gap as the tie went into his palate

Should I go to my GP about it? I’ve been a couple times as my DD is having some feeding problems and not gaining much weight and they didn’t seem to know anything anbout breastfeeding, should I go and ask for a referral to see a paediatrician?

Or should I just take her to the dentist?

see your gp.
I had problems with feeding and my DC eventually had an op when he was 2.
DC2 had a lip tie but not as bad as DC1 so we decided against operation but it kind of gets in her way now when brushing teeth and I had to pump and bottle feed until DC2 was 9 months which was an absolute nightmarr.

They won’t know what they’re looking at unless you’re based in London?

My DS2 had an upper lip tie, noticed at 7 Months by myself. Missed by midwives, paed’s, everything.
Tongue tie specialist sent us to ENT who were atrocious. The NHS don’t laser & wont touch it under a 4 year old after tooth decay, poor lip control & speech issues have happened.

I went to London privately to see Dr Levinkind, he is an expert & he lasered it there & then after assessing it. Had to do 2 months of stretching exercises until DS2 had more control & now he smiles properly & his speech after it came on so quickly but I don’t know if that’s coincidence or not.

If we hadn’t had dealt with it we would have tooth decay & I would have stopped feeding altogether as his latch was so bad. They’re also associated with a posterior tongue tie.

So if you’re London based there’s a referral or there’s a dental surgery in Huddersfield but that’s private.

Sadly those are the only options

My youngest has this. I couldnt breast feed him at all. I noticed the tie, it was missed by paeds and midwives.

I took him the GP who referred my to the paed and the childrens hospital who said they dont treat it unless he cannot feed at all and by this point, he was able to have formula using doctor browns teats. He also said it would probably break on its own as he got older.

He was a nightmare though, feeding every 2 hours for months.

He is 2 now and he is fine.

I’ll book a GP appointment tomorrow then and get the ball rolling, I’ve been trying for a few days now with a few different bottles and she just won’t take them.

I can feed her with a syringe but it takes forever just to get 1oz down.

I live a a small town with no local breastfeeding specialists, there is a support group but no clue if it’s done by a specialist or not, will enquire about that tomorrow too.

I really don’t want to give up breastfeeding, I just know it’s going to have a huge impact with my PND.

Can you try different latches? As I noticed my son had a poor latch so I used different holds & supported him with a pillow & in the sling.

The GP is going to have little to no idea. & I have no idea if they would refer down to London or if they did it would take months.
The NHS tend to do it on older kids who have the issues or has caused adult teeth to separate which is done through a GA & stitches.

I paid privately for laser treatment which was a cold laser to numb the mouth & then laser to sever it.
Your best bet is to look on breastfeeding websites for lip tie latching.