Tongue Tie - should be checked for at birth

[tyotya]

Why don't they check for tongue tie as soon as the baby is born??? My granddaughter went for 12 days without a proper feed due to this condition - she lost over 1 lb of her birth weight, and the parents were absolutely distraught because they couldn't figure out what was wrong. Daughter in law was in tears because BF wasn't going right. The problem was eventually spotted by a MW at the BF clinic. The doctors and MWs who failed to notice this are a bunch of idiots whose incompetence could have killed a beautiful little baby, and certainly ruined what should have been a joyful experience for the parents, especially the BF. They made stupid excuses like 'girls don't usually get tonge tie' and 'it was a particularly difficult case to spot'.

I am furious, but unless you're rich enough to afford the world's best lawyers there's nothing you can do. Anyone else got an opinion on this?

I'm 33 and tongue tied. I had my tongue snipped when I was 16 because it was causing problems with my lower gum - it has since regrown so not sure that snipping is always the answer.

Both my children are tongue tied and luckily both BF really well. DD's tongue tie was picked up at birth, however, DS's tongue tie, which is more severe was not. Both were born at the same hospital just under 2 years apart.

I sympathise with those of you who are struggling with feeding

I asked the paediatrician to check my now 11 week old DS to check for it after birth as my nephew had it and I think I did as well (my mum gave up breastfeeding at 6 weeks as it was difficult). Although DS had a severe tongue tie, the doctor didn't seem that bothered as my hospital midwives said I was feeding ok. (I was managing to feed but it was taking ages and my nipples were very sore but I didn't know any different - after I got out of hospital I ended up using nipple shields until it was sorted).

Fortunately, the breast-feeding counsellor I saw in the hospital was very supportive (as were the community midwives once we were back home) and gave us all the information we needed to get it snipped - we went to a clinic at Kings in South London when he was two weeks old which meant virtually a whole day out. It's a real shame that it's not more widely available - the breast-feeding counsellor told me that she had to stop referring people herself as someone from the PCT complained about the cost . We were told we'd need to pay but in fact when we took ourselves off to the GP, she was very helpful and sorted out an NHS referral (after we'd given her all the info that the b-fing counsellor had given us and informed her that waiting until 12 weeks which she thought was the norm was not an option!) It has made a huge difference to breastfeeding for both him and me.

Agree that this should be checked for at birth. DD had tongue tie which we didn't find out about until she was a week old from a BF counsellor. By that time I was so stressed thinking I couldn't BF my baby.

I have posted on this before but by the time we got a referal to a paed 4 weeks later the feeding had got easier. But paed told what was I fussing about as babies don't use their tongues for BF!! DH then whipped out all printed stuff from internet about Mervyn Griffiths and suggested he read it! Pead still refused to consider op until she was 1 yr but as feeding got better decided to leave it.

DD's speech etc is fine but when DS born insisted they checked for Tongue Tie but phew he was okay.

My FIL (exNHS worker) told me donkeys years ago babies were automatically checked for Tongue Tie at birth and the Doctor just snipped it there and then. He wasn't sure why they stopped though.

Only read the OP but ime they DO check for TT at birth. Doesn't mean you will get the correct diagnosis though.

My DD's tongue tie was spotted by the paed 24 hours after birth. She was refered to the maxillo-facial clinic at the hospital. They decided that since she was managing to feed, it did not need to be cut urgently so we would be put on their normal waiting list.

She was feeding OK, it hurt a bit but fortunately she was a quick feeder. We did have problems in the first couple of days while still in hospital because DD needed top-ups of ff (she was born at 42 weeks and clearly needed more than I was able to provide until my milk came in fully). The hospital would not use a bottle to feed, but a small cup instead that babies are supposed to be able to use their tongue to lap milk from. Of course she couldn't do that effectively because of the tongue tie.

We were lucky because our appointment came through at 3 weeks. It was a very quick procedure and she only cried for a few seconds. However after it was cut she had to learn how to feed again, because suddenly there was this thing in her mouth that moved! Her cries also changed so we could no longer recognise when she was crying out of hunger.

Reading these posts I think I have been lucky. My dd has a slight tongue tie (her tongue looks like a little heart shape when she sticks it out) which was noticed in the hospital shortly after birth. It didn't cause any problems with bf and I bf her until she was 5 months old. My GP looked at it and advised to just leave it and consider doing something about it if it causes trouble with her speech. She is now 19 months old and talks a lot and usually pretty clearly! It is probably too early to tell if her speech is affected but she is OK so far.

My 10 month old has tongue tie which I noticed at birth (I looked as my brother also had one which was snipped after delivery) and I asked for it to be treated before we left the hospital. As he was breastfeeding well (and still is) it was advised that nothing be done. At his 6 week check I said to my GP that I wanted it done before it became a prob and we were refered to consultant at hospital who was totally disinterested and said that he'd see him again in a year. I said that I was unhappy about that and wanted the tongue tie remedied before he got too old for it to be physically manageable without GH and consultant said that he wouldn't do it without a GH anyway, even at 6 weeks and that he frowned upon anyone that would. As a first time mum I took his word on that because, of course, I didn't want to put my 6 week old thro GH. Roll on 5 five months and my HV said my 'underweight' baby needed to go straight on to heavy solids (cheese, cows milk etc), again, naively, I believed her and triggered off a dreadful dairy allergy in my baby that has only now abated. At 7 months moved onto lumpier solids and baby had HUGE (and still does at 10 months) probs chewing, repeatedly vomits etc. 8 month check HV said still too underweight (30th percentile but v.v.active, healthy baby), advised to give up breastfeeding and stir oil and butter into all food!!!!At this point I decided no longer to listen to advice! She also said tongue tie needs cutting as hampering chewing (with which I agreed). Had another consultation with same surgeon who, again, was disinterested and said come back in 6 months to see if eating's improved. I made alternative appt with Mervyn Griffiths who confirmed tongue tie needed doing by GH and we're going back in 4 months to review the situation for possible op in December as anaesthetists don't like to give GH before 12 months.

I am so frustrated that this could all have been prevented by snipping the tongue at birth. I am very anxious about putting him thro GH and I'm also cross with myself for not insisting it was snipped whilst he was tiny but I believed consultant that no one would do it without GH at any time. I wish I'd researched more at time and learnt that so many would have done it.

Sorry for long message, this issue has caused me so many sleepless nights (on top of my ten month old's schedule of STILL waking 6 or 7 times a night - is he the only one???!!!!)

Good luck to all the other tongue ties out there!.

Very interesting thread, makes me think.... My DD2 is 6 weeks, and has a slight but definite tongue tie - was watching her trying to stick her tongue out earlier and it was quite comical (shouldn't laugh I know, but somethings got to amuse me at the moment ). BF is going well (ish - she is the windiest pooiest baby, but thats just how it goes really), partly because I have plenty of milk I think, so the latch doesn't really matter too much - but can't get her to take a bottle happily (would be nice to give her EBM), or even comfort feed (she goes mental if I try to feed her unless she's starving).

Should I think about pushing for a snip now whilst it is (it seems) a minor procedure, in order to forestall any future feeding/speech problems in the future (which may or may not occur). It seems from the above there is no real downside to doing it now?

Hmmm... any thoughts?

Misscreosote - I would go for it, but that is only based on what a quick simple procedure it was and DS didn't wake up. TBH, getting his injections was far more traumatic for both of us!

Laralou, Doctors tell you some ridiculous things at times. Sounds like a nightmare situation to know that it could have been so simple when you first asked for it.

I would go for it too. I too had lots of milk at the start so maybe easier for him to latch on. Now my milk supply is low as at 10mths is only on a couple of feeds a day I've found he sometimes finds it harder to latch.

Would love to hear from any mums whose babies have had tongue tie snipped under GH.

We spotted a minor tongue tie on our daughter soon after she was born. Had a horrible time getting her to latch on, spent three days in hospital trying. We asked the pead if the tongue tie might be the problem, all he did was stick his finger in her mouth, then say she could suck and handed her back to us!! Only when I went to bf clinic three weeks later, in despair as dd took sometimes up to half an hour to latch on, did the bf helper tell us that tongue tie can make it hard - although not impossible - to feed. We got a referral and it was snipped a few days later. I was stunned that the doctor in hospital didn't know this. Still am.
When ds was born (at home, to avoid being held in hospital if there were feeding problems), when the midwife was checking him over, we both simultaneously asked her to check for tt.

I've just been through this. DD3 had her tongue snipped last thursday after two weeks of agonising feeding and no sleep due to hungry screaming baby.

Fortunatelyt I had a good community midwife who, seeing the pain I was in feeding DD3 ( I was in tears) checked her tongue and arranged for it to be snipped the next day.

Still got a dose of mastitis though and it was all very stressful.

I can't believe how long some of you struggled on through the pain - it really is excruciating.
TBH I had already sent DP out for a tin of SMA on the day the midwife visited. And I had already successfullt BF two other babies.

If I had been a first time mum, DD3 would be on a bottle right now.

By the way I am also in an area where the vast majority bottle feed and I think the hospital midwives seem to expect BF babies to the hungry and screaming.

I asked for BF counsellor, as I couldn't work pout what I was doing wrong and the midwives kept telling me position and latch were fine, but was told I could only see one if I was having problems .

My DS was TT but no-one noticed in hospital. MW noticed a few days later at home when he was having trouble latching on (he kept losing suction and sort of clicking off the nipple.) He was only slightly TT so the hospital told us not to do anything about it. Tried to express but unfortunately not much luck so ended up topping up and gave up trying to express after a couple of weeks. V disappointed because I had had trouble b/f DD and was determined to get it right second time around
Anyway, DS is now 7 and tongue seems to have stretched and he has no problem sticking tongue out, speaking, eating ice cream, etc. So at least there is a happy ending

not read all the posts but if you are struggling to get it done, my dh is a community dentisit and has had training to do this- very quick and painless, baby sometimes doesn't even wake up, especially when done early. He does about 6/7 a week! Maybe ask if yours can do it.

Defo should be checked for at birth. It is so simple if done when they are tiny but if found later and they need to have a GA then what a waste of resources not to mention having to put a child or baby through a GA for an unnecessary reason - note getting TT corrected is not unnecessary, having to have it done under a GA when it could have been done without is the unnecessary bit.
My ds1 had TT and it was not picked up. To say bf was agony was putting it very lightly. I saw lac consul he was 3 weeks old who picked it up. By that time I didn't have cracked nipples I had holes in them. TT was snipped when he was 4 weeks old and the pain was far better within a few days although it took a couple more months for my nips to heal.
Interesting about the inability to chew foods properly. He was very sensitive to lumps as a baby and frequently gagged on foods. He still does it now sometimes on certain things. He also has very unclear speech and this was with it being divided so goodness what he would sound like if we hadn't had it done. I think there is still some of the frenulum remaining but I'm not prepared to put him through a GA unless he really needs it

Misscreosote - I should have added that the problems re screaming/not feeding properly for me started around 7 weeks - it took another few weeks to actually sort out. I would get the tongue tie snipped if I was in your position

Thank you to the op or starting this post. I was told by the 3rd midwife to see my baby that he had a slight tongue tie. She was my community midwife who i have seen throughout my last 2 pregnancies.

I didn't think i had any problems feeding my baby until this thread made me really think about it. DS is my 6th baby and having bf all of them up to 2 and sometimes for longer my nips are pretty tough! This baby is feeding well and is putting on weight but latching on is a bit hit and miss. He tends to suck my nipple which is uncomfortable and loses his grip more easily than i remember the others doing. He is 2 weeks tomorrow.

I had initially said i would monitor the tongue but now i'm not sure what to do. I would obviously rather get it sorted sooner rather than later. Also dh and i looked at our own tongues tonight and mine seems to be attached about half way down which might suggest that i was slightly tt at birth?? It's very interesting and not something i had given much thought to before.

Really sorry to hear about your granddaughter, tyotya, the poor little girl.

I am quite badly tongue tied at the age of 41. My speech was always fine, but when I was 12, a teacher discovered that i had an unusually nice mezzo soprano singing voice. I did all the Royal college exams throughout my teens and really wanted to study at the Royal college of Music and to be an opera singer. Sadly because of my tongue tie, I began to find some of the Italian and german pronunciations very tricky when singing and this became a big block for me. I didn't make it but sometimes wonder what might have happened without a tongue tie.

Interesting thread. My DS2 had a tongue tie but started feeding ok straightaway and was fine for a few weeks. Think it was about 6/7 weeks (same as spottedandstriped I see) that he started screaming during feeds and eventually someone told us it was probably the tongue tie. They thought that it was only when he had to work harder to get enough milk that the feeding probs emerged. Was nearly 4 months by the time we got it cut and although there were some improvements afterwards tbh he has never really settled down to enjoying his feeds. Think it was maybe a bit late for him to relearn his feeding technique. Would never have believed bfeeding could be so awful and would have given up a long time ago but can't get him to take a bottle either. Also doesn't do any sucking for comfort - no thumb, no dummy etc so he's been terrible at settling to sleep.

Think his whole babyhood would have been completely different if it had been spotted and dealt with at the begining

friendly and misscreosote - if you have the option to get it sorted now, do get it done - it's so much simpler now than if it needs to be done later under GA.

I had to fill in a Patient Report on the result of my DS's separation for some survey on the effectiveness of having it done - I hope the survey is more widespread than just my PCT area and that it shows the value of early separation overall.

Yep, another missed TT here. When BabyG was born, I had read about TT before having him and I asked 3 MWs to check as feeding was painful. Only the third said Yes, he has. I was in hopsital still and had it done within days. If I'd been referred from home, it would have taken weeks apparently.

Ridiculous. Posters everywhere saying how breast is best, but a simple thing like this is missed routinely? What a difference that would make to bf success if it was properly checked and diagnosed and SNIPPED within days.

My son was born with tongue tie and it took the midwives a full 24 hrs to notice that there was something wrong. surprising really as the tongue tie clinic a week later noted it as 90% tongue tie.

He experienced trouble breastfeeding and for the first week of his life before the tongue tie was snipped he was feeding almost constantly! Very draining for me as mum and can't have been nice for baby.

And another case here - 7 weeks of feeding agony for me and trapped wind for DD. Must have asked for help from about 10 health professionals (midwives, GPs, HV) but was told that DD was gaining weight so there was no problem. In desperation, travelled 30 miles to a recommended Baby Cafe with a friend, and TT was spotted immediately. Simple procedure and no problems ever after... Disgraceful how they are not trained to look for it, but their concern is feeding and weight gain and they are quick to push you into formula feeding if you are struggling, so I guess most cases are never diagnosed.

Just to add, even if it is spotted then they won't necesssarily do anything about it - my DD2's was only noticed by by independent midwife, immediately after the paed at the hospital had done his baby check at the birth - paed then said it was only slight so didn't matter. I was a little too exhausted to question him!

Its only now, reading this thread (and thanks very much to the OP for highlighting this issue), that a lot of bells are ringing and I'm now pretty sure we are going to see about getting it rectified. I'm just very sorry to hear all the stories of the unnecessary suffering you have all been through - why its not a routine check and snip at birth I just don't know.

Spotted and striped and notquitedelia - really interesting what you say about problems starting at 7 weeks. DD2 (6 weeks today) started refusing to BF on my normal BF pillow 2 days ago, screaming etc, and I've had to adopt a much more 'nipple drop in mouth' position rather than on her side.... could well be because she's starting to have to work a bit, and wants it to be 'hosed in' still with no effort like before (of course, it could just be my BF technique!). That's definitely given me the push I needed to go and get this sorted out asap.