Tongue-Tie | 12 June 2019
Q&A by renowned International Board Certified Lactation Consultant and Tongue-tie Specialist Sarah Oakley who has completed over 4000 tongue-tie procedures in the UK and is the ‘go-to' person for tongue-tie training.
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Does tongue-tie impact bottle-fed babies or not? The quick answer to the question is yes it does. Tongue-tie is more likely to cause problems for breastfed babies because they use their tongues in a more complex way than a bottle-feeding baby does. But that doesn't mean to say that all babies with tongue-tie will be able to bottle feed well.
“Quite often we see bottle-fed babies who are having very similar issues to babies who are breastfeeding. They often don't make a very good seal on the bottle, so they're very messy. They often take in quite a lot of air because they can't maintain the suction.”
They often have issues around flow regulations. They tend to gulp the bottles down very quickly and then get very uncomfortable and sometimes very sick.
Then conversely sometimes I see some bottle-fed babies who are struggling to make adequate suction and so they take a very long time to feed and may take two hours to complete a bottle feed or may never actually complete a bottle feed because they tire out so much that they fall asleep after only a small amount and then end up feeding very, very frequently.
They are very prone to having wind and reflux as well if the tongue-tie causes issues. So although the numbers have tongue tie bag is affected who are bottle feeding or smaller than with breastfeeding, it still is an issue for some babies with tongue tie. So switching to bottlefeeding isn't necessarily a solution to a baby with a tongue-tie who's breastfeeding. It can cause problems for those bottle -fed babies as well. So it needs to be taken just as seriously in the bottle feeders as in the breastfed babies.
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OCN level 3 & 4 Tongue-tie & Infant Feeding Course – This course is for childcare, breastfeeding and healthcare professionals who would like to be able to better guide and support families who have babies with tongue-tie. The advanced syllabus will support students to gain a deeper understanding of the different types of tongue-tie, the assessment processes used and the possible treatment available. Students will also learn how to sign-post parents quickly and effectively, and know the effects tongue-tie has on other areas such as feeding and speech.