Tongue-tie | Birth, Baby & You | Lactation Specialist | Kent, Sussex & Surrey

If you have just discovered your baby has a tongue-tie you’re bound to be feeling very anxious.

You may have noticed it yourself, or been told by a doctor or midwife that your baby has a ‘tongue-tie’ and they have referred you to the NHS service.  But waiting times can be too long when you’re struggling to feed, and you might even find your baby doesn’t qualify to be treated, as they’re putting on weight or are now too old to be seen!

All too commonly, you may have received conflicting advice around whether or not your baby even has a tongue-tie and you just want to talk to an expert.

If you’re experiencing difficulties feeding your baby, and suspect a tongue-tie, you should seek expert advice from a qualified CQC registered Tongue-tie Practitioner and Lactation Consultant such as myself.

Feeding difficulties which the mother may experience due to a tongue-tie

Problems the baby may experience due to restricted tongue function

Anterior tongue-tie – at the front 

An anterior tongue-tie is diagnosed when the membrane is attached at, or close to, the tongue tip. The tongue tip may look notched or even heart shaped. The frenulum often runs from under the tongue (near the tip) to just behind the baby’s gum ridge.

Posterior tongue-tie – at the back

When the membrane is attached further back from the tip of the tongue – usually where the tongue is joined to the floor of the mouth – and ONLY if it’s causing a restriction, then it’s classified as a posterior tongue-tie. Sometimes the tongue may appear normal, but the tongue-tie is diagnosed via digital assessment of the tongue function. If a visible or palpable frenulum is not impeding tongue function, then it’s simply a lingual frenulum and not a tongue-tie.

You can find out more about tongue-tie on our blog.

Firstly, I will examine your baby, targeting the head and neck to determine if there are any restrictions with movement – I will gently place a gloved finger into your baby’s mouth and observe how your baby uses their tongue.

A true assessment cannot be made simply by ‘taking a look’, or whilst the baby is sitting on a parent’s lap, or laying in a car seat!  

A full assessment is usually carried out with the baby laying on my lap, or on a changing table. The aim of the examination is to determine the degree of tension of the frenulum on the tongue and the surrounding tissue. 

This gentle examination will not distress your baby and they often quite enjoy it – as long as they’re not too hungry!

NICE Guidance (2005) states: Division of ankyloglossia (tongue-tie) for breastfeeding should only be performed by registered healthcare professionals who are properly trained. A registered health care professional is someone who holds a healthcare qualification and has professional registration with a regulatory body such as the NMC.

As a registered Midwife, Lactation Consultant and NHS Infant Feeding Lead, I trained to divide tongue-ties at Southampton hospital in 2009. I then went on to run an NHS tongue-tie clinic at a leading hospital in the South East, seeing about 6 babies each week in my feeding clinic.

Since training, as a Tongue-tie Practitioner, over 12 years ago, I have assessed and treated literally thousands of babies! I am very proud to say that I am one of the most experienced Private Practitioners with a great reputation and an abundance of 5* reviews which you can read on my Birth Baby and You facebook page.

There is no evidence that this procedure causes much discomfort in young babies and therefore no anaesthetic is used to perform a tongue-tie release in babies under 6 months (more experienced practitioners, such as myself, will also see babies up to 9 months). This is because many babies do not seem to feel very much discomfort from the procedure and therefore an anaesthetic would be more invasive than the procedure itself.

A small number of babies (usually over 8 weeks), may feel some discomfort for a short time after the procedure. If your baby does cry more than normal you can give them the prescribed dose of Calpol, appropriate to their age. Any perceived discomfort usually settles within 24 hours.

Click here to read more about how the procedure is carried out.

When breastfeeding isn’t going the way we want it to, it’s natural to look for something to blame. There’s lots of talk about ‘lip-tie’ on various tongue-tie forums, but the source of treating the naturally occurring phenomenon of a ‘labial frenum’ seems to have its roots in America. In 18 years of practice as a UK registered midwife, and 12 years specialising in infant feeding, I’ve only ever seen 4 true lip-ties, where the lip was fused to the upper gum ridge.

Currently, there’s no published evidence supporting a link between breastfeeding issues and lip-tie. 

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) have not issued any guidance on this issue and therefore training is not available in the UK in lip-tie division for practitioners. 

Click here to read a full statement regarding lip-tie by The Association of Tongue Tie Practitioners (ATP) 

Yes! In Jan 2019 the CQC confirmed that Frenulotomy falls within the regulated activity ‘surgical procedures’ and any HCP carrying out the procedure would have to register with the CQC for inspection.

I am now registered for regulation with the CQC. You can see their widget in the footer of this website enabling you to check my registration.