Greetings:

Had a wonderful success story to share. I saw a mom & 11 day old baby
for complaints of low milk supply, baby eating for 1 1/2 hours most of
time. Mom said baby is never satisfied &mom's nipples are  very sore.
Birth weight was 7-4 ; during consult: 6-8oz. A feeding assessment that
lasted 45 minutes and another 15 minutes yielded few swallows, and baby
was still very fussy. Mom had rented an electric pump because she knew
that her supply was low.She had nursed a previous child 22 months
successfully after struggling a month with that child. Mom refused the
supplemental nursing system, was using bottles to supplement.Baby paused
a lot during the feeding session. Oral assessment of baby's mouth
revealed tongue tie with baby not being able to bring tongue beyond gum
line. I also gave her the name and phone number of a neonatoligist who
would evaluate and do a frenotomy if needed. Her baby's doctor said that
she was not concerned with baby's weight, nothing was wrong with the
frenulum and would not give a referral. Mom was exhausted, in tears, and
decided to go to the neonatologist without a referral. The specialist
called me with results. Pre/post feeding weight before frenotomy yielded
zero change. Pre/post feeding weight after frenotomy yielded an ounce
difference. Mom stated that the baby's suck felt great, much stronger
and did not hurt. I will continue to see the mother & do weight checks
until I am satisfied. Also, the neonatologist is going to send a report
to the baby's doctor. (I wonder if the previous child may have been
tongue-tied.)
I hope this post is not too jumbled.  I just felt such relief for this
mother & baby.
Helen Curless, RN,IBCLC

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