Treating Tongue Tie Could Help More Babies Breastfeed
ScienceDaily (July 5, 2010) — Doctors advise new mothers to breastfeed for at least the first six months of a baby’s life, but a simple yet often untreated problem can sabotage their efforts, University of Florida researchers say.
Called a tongue tie, the problem occurs when the connective tissue under the tongue is too tight. A tongue tie can hinder some newborns from being able to breastfeed properly and painlessly, and this struggle can lead many new mothers to give up breastfeeding.
A simple snip can fix the problem, but many doctors still do not perform the procedure despite the effects a tongue tie can have on breastfeeding, writes UF neonatologist Sandra Sullivan, M.D., in an article published online this month in the journal Pediatrics.
