The benefits of treating tongue-tie

Improving breastfeeding

Of the original research included in this review, 11 of the 20 studies looked at the mothers' subjective self-reporting to see if their baby's frenotomy had positive outcomes. In all of the these studies, the mothers said their breastfeeding improved.

Moms noticed an immediate improvement in their nipple pain. One study even found that the frenotomy improved 90% of the breastfeeding problems, including better latch and shorter feeding times.

When looking at the link between tongue-tie and nipple pain, all studies found that nipple pain decreased after frenotomy – both immediately after the procedure and during a 2-week period afterwards.

When nipple pain was the main reason to avoid breastfeeding, following frenotomy these mothers were more likely to be breastfeeding 3 months later. And it is interesting to note that female babies benefitted most in cases when the frenotomy was done within 24 hours of birth - especially those with less severe tongue-tie (and older siblings).

Within one month

Six of the studies reviewed used LATCH scores to measure breastfeeding, by evaluating scores before and after lingual frenotomy. One study found no differences, but others showed significant increases in LATCH scores – including improvements immediately following the procedure, as well as one and two weeks later on.

And though this review focused on studies of frenotomies performed within one year of birth, the most significant breastfeeding improvements happened when the procedure was done within one month of birth.

Bottle feeding problems

But it's not just about breastfeeding. Tongue-tie has been found to cause problems with bottle feeding. This ranges from dribbling and clicking to baby being extra gassy. So it is important to consider the above research when faced with a wide range of feeding problems.

Tongue-tie could be a major contributing factor. Not just for nipple pain, but for gastroesophageal reflux (GERD) and other problems. Considering the non-invasiveness of frenotomy, this simple procedure could benefit babies and their breastfeeding parents by reducing at least one barrier to breastfeeding: nipple pain.

References
1. Hill RR, Pados BF. Symptoms of problematic feeding in infants under 1 year of age undergoing frenotomy: A review article. Acta Paediatr. 2020 Dec;109(12):2502-2514.