If breastfeeding is consistently painful despite good positioning, if your baby slips off the breast repeatedly, or if they're not gaining weight as expected, tongue tie is worth investigating. It affects somewhere between four and eleven per cent of newborns.
What it is
The strip of skin connecting the tongue to the floor of the mouth is shorter or tighter than usual, restricting tongue movement. Many babies with tongue tie feed perfectly well and need no treatment.
Signs it's causing problems
Difficulty attaching or staying attached. Feeding for very long times. Needing very frequent feeds. Clicking sounds during feeding. Poor weight gain. For you: sore, cracked nipples and painful, swollen breasts.
The procedure
A frenulotomy is quick and straightforward. A practitioner snips the tight piece of skin with sterile scissors. In young babies it's usually done without anaesthetic because the frenulum has very few nerve endings at this age. Most babies can feed immediately afterwards.
Not every tongue tie needs cutting
Sometimes adjusting positioning and attachment resolves the problem. The National Breastfeeding Helpline (0300 100 0212) can provide support.