Experiences of posterior tongue tie?

[oliveroses]

Hi, my newborn is 6 days old and has been able to latch from beginning, milk is in, I am keen to breastfeed. It's very painful though. Countless midwives and a specialist breast feeding consultant have checked and adjusted the latch. This is my second baby and I breastfed the first. The latch seems good to me and I am paying attention to the attachment. I am now using a nipple shield as my nipples started bleeding a few days ago and to be honest I fear the shield is interfering with the latch - however it's too painful without at the moment. The shield is protecting my nipples from further damage but it is still painful and I don't know how much they are healing - I feel at a standstill. Only positive is the whole feed is not excruciating, usually just the initial latch. I am using shed loads of lansinoh and I also bought some silver cups but didn't realise you are not supposed to use with creams and lotions so haven't tried them yet. I have also been expressing when I can to give my boobs a break but it's difficult to fit this in between feeds.

I don't know if a) it's just painful at the beginning for some, b) if this will improve as the baby gets bigger and stronger c) If this is old damage that is struggling to heal or d) if there is another problem like posterior tongue tie. My first had a massive anterior tongue tie but I have no knowledge or experience of posterior. Could this be worth looking into? Anyone done this privately as I'm not sure what waiting lists are like here?

Cluster feeding time is here and I know I have to do it to get more milk in - but I don't know how long I have in me! He usually goes til about 2am and I feel empty (and ouchy!)

[EmilyMay89]

My boy had a posterior tongue tie. Everyone kept telling me latch was fine and no problems. But I constantly got blocked ducts, managed to get mastitis 3 times before he was 10 weeks old. I was crying when feeding it was so painful. We had his tie cut when he was about 11 weeks through the NHS after someone finally agreed there was an issue. Absolute game changer and didn't have any problems after that and I fed him until 14 months.

In my area you self referred for the assessment, might be worth doing and then you'll get an idea of wait times

[Mumofthree8]

Sounds like my experience of posterior tongue tie, seen by multiple midwife’s but sadly none had enough experience to sort it out/identify it. find a really experienced tongue tie practitioner, sometimes a maternity unit will have an NHS one or alternatively look up on tongue-tie.org.uk, I paid for both my children to have it sorted, best money I have ever spent and went on to feed them both for 18months. Good luck! Trust your gut feeling, nipples should not be blistered and painful.

[oliveroses]

Thanks so much @EmilyMay89 and @Mumofthree8, this gives me the confidence and motivation to follow up and I will get onto it tomorrow. Something definitely isn't right!

@EmilyMay89 can't believe you stuck it out for so long! The pain is awful.

@Mumofthree8 thanks so much for the link.

[Tinyant]

If it’s painful on latching but then becomes comfortable, it could be that it’s old trauma taking time to heal. What is the shape of your nipple like after a feed when baby unlatches?

[oliveroses]

@Tinyant they are normal shaped, so not squashed or flattened at the end. A good sign, I'm just not sure why they are not improving in terms of pain or condition.

[Lemmuffin]

Following as I basically have the same issue!!

[EmilyMay89]

@oliveroses I'm not sure how I stuck it out for so long. Pig headed determination. But trust your gut if it's not right and push for them to do something

[Flittingaboutagain]

Something is most definitely wrong. Have two with posterior tongue tie and the private lactation consultant who assessed them both said that being able to latch, getting decent weight gain etc but it damaging nipples or being incredibly painful for mum are the most common signs!

Be very careful about applying loads of the purple cream. It can cause an otherwise decently latching baby to slip off and give you worse damage. You just need a tiny amount for the benefit.

[oliveroses]

@Tinyant I realised they are normal shape but they are 'blanched', I didn't know the term for this until today!

@Flittingaboutagain thanks so much, very much appreciate the note - hmm it does sound suspiciously likely to me ... and thanks for the warning about the cream, I will be more sparing!

Just asked about the nhs referral process here.

[jenniferjane21]

This sounds very similar to my experience with DC3. I turned out that I had thrush in my breasts and your blanching might indicate that you do too. There was no sign of it in DC3's mouth.

I had successfully breast fed my first two babies, so was not expecting issues at all but latching on was unbelievably painful. I vividly remember going to a petrol station at 2 am to get some formula with a 6 day old baby and a toddler in tow, because of course they had woken up too. I just couldn't stand the latching on pain any more, it felt like feeding through glass.

Anyway, I hope you get the issue sorted, whatever it is x

[minipie]

Yep had a late diagnosis of posterior TT here after multiple midwives, nurses, HV said nothing there. Private lactation consultant diagnosed and then someone else privately snipped (could probably have found one person to do both if I’d known that was the issue).

With hindsight the giveaway for us was not just the pain and nipple effects but the fact she was very loosely attached and would have to be relatched several times - there was none of that “breaking the seal” which I now know is required with a good latch, and she definitely didn’t have a full mouthful of breast.

DD was gaining weight ok but jumped 2 centile lines after the tt cut (from 25th to 75th!) so clearly it was having a big effect.

[oliveroses]

@jenniferjane21 thanks so much- I had been wondering about this actually. I'll ask my midwife to investigate. I did notice some white on baby's tongue earlier but I haven't checked to see if it's always there or only after a feed.

Thanks @minipie, yes, feeding through glass is unfortunately a good description. I will get to the bottom of it - have to really if I want to breastfeed x

[BackOfTheMum5net]

I was told in hospital that my baby had “a slight posterior tongue tie, but it shouldn’t affect feeding.”

I found feeding painful, though my baby gained weight well. Feeding sessions went on for ages and I had to use nipple shields too. Through my community midwife I was booked an appointment with the hospital feeding clinic and the nurse dismissed the tongue tie and shipped out there and then. (At 3 weeks).

They score the tongue tie - bollocks was it slight! You do need to be looked at by someone with specialist knowledge, whether it’s NHS or private. Don’t let your midwife discharge you until you’re happy you can comfortably feed your baby.

If anyone’s been discharged, ask your Health Visitor to make the referral. It’s best to do it before 8 weeks, as after then you are dealt with by ENT Department rather than maternity.

[BackOfTheMum5net]

Snipped not shipped! 🙄