Tongue-tied babies will now be treated soon after birth
BABIES born at the Royal Derby Hospital with a condition which leaves them tongue-tied will now be able to have a procedure to correct the problem.
Staff at the hospital aim to spot the problem shortly after birth and, if necessary, perform a corrective procedure within two weeks.
The condition, called ankyloglossia, is where the baby's tongue is attached to the bottom of the mouth by a thin piece of skin, restricting its movement.
It can also lead to problems with breastfeeding. Among those whose children have undergone the procedure is Sara Lodge-Partridge, of Littleover.
She said: "My baby Mason seemed to be having difficulty feeding and I was finding breastfeeding so painful. It was only when they examined his mouth they told me Mason had a tongue tie. The procedure was over in seconds and, as soon as I started to feed Mason, I noticed an improvement."
Karen Payne, clinical specialist midwife lead in infant feeding, said: "This new service means we can provide even faster treatment to help mums breastfeed their babies in the important early months."
2 Comments
by haddens
Friday, March 02 2012, 11:13AM
“Very interested in this article. My daughter gave birth at Derby Royal at the end of January 2012. She was told that the baby could not breastfeed because he was tongue-tied. The hospital advised to contact her GP on discharge. This she did and her GP referred her back to the hospital. She now has an appointment in April and has been informed that this appointment may result in her being placed on a waiting list for treatment. Meanwhile, she has been unable to breastfeed her baby and he suffers quite a lot from colic, which I undersatnd can be made worse by the condition of being tongue-tied. It would be interesting to hear the hospital's comments on this.
Sue Cooper”
by janine2011
Monday, February 06 2012, 9:36AM
“My eldest was born tongue tied 35 years ago, it was sorted before I even left the hospital with him. My youngest still is, he is 13 so will always have it as the maternity units stopped checking newborns for it. I am glad they are reinstating checking.”