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Infant feeding

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

Original poster

Tongue tie in newborn- advice please

58 replies

laundrylover · 07/01/2008 09:42

My SIL had a bouncing baby boy early this morning and he has tongue tie. The midwife is visiting today to have another look but obviously this could impact on his feeding - he has fed for 20 mins but is actually sleeping lots which sounds fine to me. My SIL has successfully bfed her first to a year and is very keen to bfeed again.

Anyway she is 200 miles away and I just thought that if I could gather some experiences and advice from you lovely MNers then she could log on and get some support.

Thanks in advance.

LL

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psychomum5 · 07/01/2008 09:46

my DS2 had tongue-tie. made (for me) breast feeding lots more difficult as he wasn't able to get his tongue between his gums and my breast, so he chomped down insead IYGWIM.

he is my fifth child, and also the fifth that I had breastfed,so I could tell the difference immediately!

he was referred at 2wks, it was 'done' at 4wks, and the difference was amazing.

depending on where in the country she is, I know southampton hospital does it as that is where we went.

HTH

Original poster
laundrylover · 07/01/2008 11:05

Thanks Psychomum,

I think hearing from mums who have bfed through it will be of help.

SIL is in Glastonbury but hopefully MW will be able to tell them the policy on snipping etc.

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PrismManchip · 07/01/2008 11:09

DS was tongue-tied. WELL DONE that midwife for spotting it because nobody did when I was trying to bf ds, until he was 3 weeks old and nobody advised having it snipped even though he was clearly not feeding well (mind you he was jaundiced too). We ended up formula feeding.
My advice would be, don't think twice about it, get it snipped. They give it one wee snip with surgical scissors, you latch the baby on, and off you go. It can really make all the difference with feeding - people always say "oh some babies can feed fine" and this may be true, but if yours is a baby who isn't going to be able to feed fine, then you will have some days or weeks of worry, possibly pain as well, to contend with! It really is a simple procedure

Mummy2TandF · 07/01/2008 11:13

Both of my dc's were tongue tied, although it was never spotted by the heath proffession. My ds is now 3.2 and his tongue has stretched itself, apperently tongue tied children put more things in thier mouths in order to naturally stretch the tongue - The only problem I noticed with his feeding is wind, because he couldn't get a proper "seal" on breast or bottle he took in too much air, so wind and sickness was a problem at first but no problems since then. I did take him to a consultant who was prepared to snip it if needed but I decided to see how it progressed and so far so good. He can even get his tongue passed his lip now! DD is also tongue tied but not to the same extent so again, I am prepared to wait and see with her. HTH

2happy · 07/01/2008 11:16

Hi laundrylover. My ds2 was tongue-tied, but I only noticed it at 6w when he gave this huge smile and it was so obvious, was embarassed not to have noticed before!

His feeding was fine initially, not quite as good as his brother, but not bad. But over the 6 weeks it had begun to get worse. In the 2 weeks before I saw the tie, he had started doing everything typical of a tongue tied baby - struggling to latch, furiously shaking his head, hurting my nips, feeding more frequently because he wasn't getting as much, and getting more and more windy (because he was taking in more air).

It is apparently typical for feeding to be ok, then get worse - because as your boobs become less engorged, the let down is less forceful and they have to work harder to get the milk.

In ds2's case, we were lucky to see a specialist very quickly (in Newcastle) and she said it was quite severe, because especially his upward movement was very restricted - which is v improtant for the latch. She snipped it then and there - said most babies don't feel it and usually doesn't bleed. Of course, he screamed and bled. Not for long though, and his feeding had started to improve by that evening, and within a week was so fantastic - I hadn't realised how bad it had become. He even slept through (well, 11-5) for the first time. So glad I got it snipped, though is always a personal decision for the mum. Dr Sears website has lots of info. Also look at Hunkermunker's bfeeding blog.

Sorry this is such an essay, is a subject v close to my heart but off on holiday shortly so wanted to get as much infor down as poss for you! Congrats to your sil btw!!

Maveta · 07/01/2008 11:17

My sister noticed ds' tongue tie when he was only 6 days old and we finally got it snipped when he was 6 weeks old. The dr. fobbed me off at first saying it might break on its own and wouldn't effect feeding. I made a point to tell him on my first visit after the snip that the difference was amazing, he was really surprised.

IME feeding started off ok (but what did I know, he's my first! ) and slowly became more painful, I had persistant thrush, and something that I could never decide if it was white nipple or reynauds (which I do get in my fingers) - suddenly (up to an hour after feeding) my nipple would suddenly lose all colour and become extremely painful. I couldn't even let the water from the shower touch me. All of it stopped within 10 days of the tt being clipped.

It's one of the first things I would check in any future kids and would insist on it being done straight away, even if I had to pay for it. No doubts.

2happy · 07/01/2008 11:20

On HM's blog I have linked to the NICE guidance on the subject btw (which recommends snipping if interfering with bfeeding), sil should feel free to print and wave at health professional if any quibbling over snipping if it does interfere with her feeding.

pps, I was bfed and I have a tongue tie (unsnipped). Apparently I fed ok, but self weaned at 6m to my mother's distress. On seeing what ds2 was like, she thinks it was probably because of the tongue tie, I wasn't getting the milk and found a cup easier. But it does show you can bfeed without a snip for some time.

2happy · 07/01/2008 11:20

ppps lots of MN threads on tongue tie

Original poster
laundrylover · 07/01/2008 11:29

Great info coming thorugh these responses. Thanks all.

2happy, could you do a link to Hunker's blog for me please?

Would do myself but am flat out with a work deadline. I haven't even seen her blog but need to explore when I have some spare time.

Thanks.

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Original poster
laundrylover · 07/01/2008 11:31

Yes, I know there are lots of threads but don't think SIL is a MNer (will have to get her addicted) so nice to have a thread especially for her!

Will get her to do a search though if she wants to see more...

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yogimum · 07/01/2008 11:36

I spotted my ds tongue-tie but was annoyed when the consultant at Southampton wouldn't do anything about it. You have to be persistent. Fortunately ds didn't have a problem feeding.

yogimum · 07/01/2008 11:38

2happy, thats interesting, as ds self-weaned at 11 months as he found a cup easier.

psychomum5 · 07/01/2008 12:09

ooh....loads of people gone thro it!

just to add to mine, if your SIL does decide to go for a referral to snip, it isn't at all painful for baby......altho he may cry!

they tend to cry more because of the fact that they are very very well swaddled and held under the nurses arm, mouth open to be able to snip......so the baby is in fact irate because of the restrictions IYGWIM.

it may bleed a little.....my DS's did, but it can't have bothered him as he fed immediately after, and when he came off, he came off with that drunk little look that a well fed baby gets......and it was the first time he had ever done that since he had been born......made me soooooo releived I have to say.

I would have to say that, if she is worried, and it is making a difference to the feeding (altho to be fair, if he is her first she won't have past experience to refer to), then she should push for something done sooner rather than later. for his sake as much as her nipples sake!

bigcar · 07/01/2008 13:37

My ds was tt, he fed fine, but by the time he was 3 he had no recogniseable speech despite saying loads. At that age he had to have a general anaesthetic to get it snipped because he couldn't be trusted to stay still. If your sil wants it snipped, get it done sooner rather than later!

IorekByrnison · 07/01/2008 13:55

Good tongue-tile site here

NICE guidelines here

IorekByrnison · 07/01/2008 13:56

tongue-tile?

ChubbyShcotsBurd · 07/01/2008 14:01

My DS (5.5m) has tongue tie and feeds fine (v windy but could be for other reasons in his case). I don't know whether it will affect his speech later though ... MW/HV/GP unconcerned

PrismManchip · 07/01/2008 14:21

CSB as far as I can tell they are always unconcerned!
I've read that historically, midwives used to always check for this and dealt with it at birth. As with lots of little tricks midwives had, it must have been lost in the mists of time as most babies became bottlefed...Hence only a few on-the-ball hcps seem to even know about it, let alone see it as a priority of any sort.
And the books all seem to say "Most babies feed fine" which is NO help if yours doesn't. To my mind, getting bf established should be top priority in the early days, and anything that might be getting in the way of that should be on their radar....but this isn't, it seems.

Original poster
laundrylover · 07/01/2008 14:27

Thanks everyone.

at tongue-tile! Can you get them in B and Q???

Great links too Iorek.

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Nemna · 07/01/2008 14:32

My dd2 was tongue tied and it definitely made feeding more difficult for her and less than comfortable for me. She also had v bad reflux and was really struggling to gain weight, so anything that helped feeding seemed essential. She had hers snipped at Southampton when she was 11 weeks and it made a real difference; it even helped the refux as she was less windy.

The snip itself really didn't seem to bother her - one hearty shout and she was feeding less than a minute later.

My HV and GP were very pro having it snipped. They both said that as well as feeding problems apparently it can cause problems with speech and dental hygiene.

IorekByrnison · 07/01/2008 14:34

Totally agree PrismManchip. Apparently there are records of midwives keeping one fingernail sharpened for the purpose, suggesting it was very well known and very common.

I have a midwife friend with whom I was discussing this the other week who said she had recently referred someone to a consultant because the baby had a tongue-tie and was having difficulty feeding, but was told that a tongue-tie has no impact on breastfeeding. (And this despite all the studies published on the NICE website showing immediate improvements in feeding after division).

Some tongue-tied babies can feed with no problems. Unfortunately this is often taken to mean that all can, and this is simply not true.

liahgen · 07/01/2008 22:08

Mr Patel at Kings College runs a Thursday clinic I believe. Need refferel from A breastfeeding councillor or hv/mw. If you were to call on the Monday, you could probably be seen on the Thursday.
hth

Original poster
laundrylover · 08/01/2008 09:31

SIL's MW and GP have seen the baby and have hinted that they don't snip....mind you he slept all day yesterday so hasn't even tried for a feed! I hope he hasn't been up all night but bet he has....

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IorekByrnison · 08/01/2008 13:21

Let us know how they go laundrylover

Original poster
laundrylover · 08/01/2008 14:14

Will do IB. He fed once in the night and a bit this morning and SIL thinks he is getting colostrum. Her milk isn't in so it's hard to judge how much is going down eh?

He's certainly a good sleeper!

BTW we are discussing you IB at book club tonight as have read Northern Lights.

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