quick clicks

babies today articles

babies today q&a

toddlers today articles

toddlers today q&a

breastfeed.com articles

breastfeed.com q&a

message boards

research baby names

prepare a birth plan

content channels

ip channel rss feeds

read birth stories

read parenting stories

recommended books

e-newsletters

safety recalls

ip diaries

ip store

mom of the month

dad of the month

editor's letter

letters to the editor

Expert Q&A

	By Ann Calandro BSN, RNC, IBCLC Lactation Consultant

The pediatrician says my baby is tongue tied? What does that mean?

About four out of every 1,000 babies born are affected with a condition called ankyloglossia or tongue-tie. Tongue-tie is when the small piece of skin under the tongue is tight and holds the tongue fastened to the bottom of the baby's mouth. The tongue is restricted from upward motion. The small piece of skin, called the lingual frenulum, may in some cases reach all the way to the tip of the baby's tongue. The condition tends to run in families. It may persist into adulthood, causing additional problems.

In years past, it was understood that tongue-tie may affect a baby's ability to breastfeed. It is said that midwives used to keep one fingernail sharp for the purpose of cutting the frenulum loose to aid breastfeeding. Physicians routinely clipped the small piece of skin if the frenulum looked tight at birth. When bottle-feeding became the norm in our country, physicians were taught that clipping the frenulum was an unnecessary procedure, and physicians were no longer taught this procedure during medical training.

Now the tides have turned back, with more than 60 percent of all babies beginning life breastfeeding. However, there are still many physicians who do not feel that the tight lingual frenulum could cause problems with breastfeeding, and they discourage mothers from having the frenulum clipped.

View more Q&A by this Expert