Difficult Nursing Babies Can Be Caused By Tongue-tie, This Is The Way To Overcome It

According to doctors and nurses, the baby's mouth position is correct when feeding. There's also no problem with your nipples. However, the nipples still feel pain when breastfeeding and your baby cannot suck the milk properly. There is a possibility that the baby will experience tongue-tie. Tongue-tie is a congenital condition in infants that makes the tongue unable to move freely because the tongue frenulum is short, thick or or bound to the floor of the mouth. The tongue frenulum is a thin tissue that connects the tongue to the floor of the mouth. The exact cause of this condition is unknown, although some cases of tongue-tie are known to be related to genetic or hereditary factors. Tongue-tie is experienced by around 5% of newborns, and is more often experienced by male babies.

Recognize the characteristics of Tongue-tie

Characteristics of babies experiencing tounge-tie is difficult to stick out the tongue and suckle. Then it can also affect the baby's ability to eat, talk, and swallow. However, there are also babies with tongue-tie who do not experience any interference. In addition, there are several other things that characterize babies experiencing tounge-tie:

• The shape of the baby's tongue resembles a heart when stretched out.
• Babies have difficulty sticking their tongues past their lower front teeth.
• Difficult to move the tongue from one side to another, or from the bottom up.
• Babies find it difficult to suck breast milk when suckling.
• Baby's weight gain is inadequate.
• Mother continues to feel pain when breastfeeding.

In some babies with tounge-tie, over time this condition will improve by itself. As we get older, the tongue frenulum will also develop and stretch, so that it no longer causes complaints. While in some other babies, tongue-tie may need to be treated with medical procedures because it causes interference with the baby's basic abilities, such as sucking breast milk, so it is feared that it will interfere with growth and development later.

How to Overcome Tounge-tie

For babies with tongue-tie who are impaired in their ability to suckle, the doctor may recommend one of two ways:

• Phrenotomy

This process is carried out in infants with an indication of tounge-tie shortly after birth. After being examined, the doctor can immediately cut the frenulum with a sterile scissor, to free the movement of the tongue. The process is very fast, so there is no need to worry about the baby's pain. Moreover, the frenulum contains only a few nerve endings and blood vessels, so sometimes there is no bleeding. Then, the breast is attached to the breast for breastfeeding. Even if the blood comes out, breast milk will then be an antiseptic and pain reliever.

• Frenuloplasti

This procedure is performed by surgery and anesthesia if the frenulum is too thick. Currently the frenuloplasty process can be done with a laser, so it does not require stitches, minimizes pain, and reduces the risk of complications.

After performing the procedure to improve the condition of the tounge-tie, tongue training may need to be done on the baby, to reduce the risk of complications in the scar and restore tongue movement. The doctor in charge can explain how. However, the procedure for dealing with tounge-tie is still often a debate between doctors and lactation counselors. Some doctors recommend that it be done immediately after the baby is born, but there are also those who choose to leave it alone and wait for the condition to go away on its own. To ensure the condition of tounge-tie in infants, parents should consult with a pediatrician or ENT doctor, to take appropriate action.