We all have a band of tissue under our tongue that connects to the floor of our mouth called the frenulum. When that tissue is too short, too tight, or too far forward, it impacts tongue movement and can be called restrictive. Tongue tie can lead to pain with breastfeeding, feeds that take a long time due to poor milk transfer, reflux symptoms from swallowing air, or poor weight gain for baby. All these things make mealtimes stressful for mom and baby, but we can help.
Frenotomy, also known as tongue clipping, is a procedure to release tethered oral tissues that may be impacting breastfeeding. Frenotomy is considered for infants having trouble establishing breastfeeding, not gaining weight, or whose mothers are having continued pain that’s not improving after help from a lactation specialist. Good candidates are babies under two months old who have already received their vitamin K shot and been seen by lactation to rule out other reasons breastfeeding may not be going well.
The procedure itself takes just a few seconds and mom can feed baby right after. Sometimes this first feed feels better right away, but improvement can also take time and continued work with a lactation consultant. Please call our office for more information or to schedule a consultation.
