A tongue tied baby is, in layman’s terms when there is a malformation in the baby’s frenulum and it is too tight. Approximately 2% of babies are born this way and it is genetic. One of the particularly tricky things about trying to breastfeed a tongue tied baby is that while it may be immediately apparent that the latch isn’t quite right (pain in breastfeeding is almost always an improper latch), it may not be apparent why. A good pediatrician or IBCLC should be able to identify the problem upon examination.
However, if you can spot the problem yourself, you may save yourself some time and pain while preserving your ability to breastfeed. When a baby doesn’t latch properly, the cycle continues in causing low milk supply and generally ends the breastfeeding relationship very early.
Your Baby May Be Tongue Tied If. . .
*The tongue tip looks unusual. A heart shape tongue, or a tongue that is square or rounded when stuck out (instead of pointy) are all possible indicators of a tongue tied baby.
*Difficulty sticking the tongue out. Your baby may be tongue tied if he has difficult sticking his tongue out past the gum line. Touching the tip of his tongue should cause him to stick his tongue far out, well past the gum line.
*Tongue doesn’t cup. The best description that I’ve heard to describe this is that when you tick your finger in your baby’s mouth, the tongue cups your finger like a hot dog bun does to a hot dog.
*The frenulum is attached very close to the tip of the tongue. You can look and see where the frenulum is attached.
If you suspect that your baby is tongue tied, you should take him to a pediatrician right away. You can still breastfeed. But the earlier you identify the problem and have it corrected, the earlier you will be able to have a good nursing relationship.
Look soon for my next blog on how to deal with this problem and go on to have a long breastfeeding relationship.
For tips on dealing with other common nursing nuisances check out these articles: