Brian writes:

>Hopefully more frenotomies and frenectomies will be
>done after the conference.

With all due respects, I think that a better conference to spread this
information around (with the result of increasing the number of procedures
done on needy babies) would be a dental and/or pediatric conference!!!  In my
experience LCs know far more about the need for the tongue to move properly
during breastfeeding than physicians.  My own dentist deferred to the
pediatrician when I point blank asked him to assess my son's tongue tie.
 (When he was a baby, the peds told me that it would be OK with time --
notice it was not them he was sucking on-- and we didn't know anyone who did
the procedure....)

My experience has been that the parents are willing, but up until a few years
ago, we didn't have dentists or physicians willing to do the procedure.  Now
we have a handful of dentists in the area who will do it, but the
pediatricians are still very balky (to put it mildly). I even had a mother
take the JHL article on tongue tie with her to the physician.  Her baby had
turned her nipples into hamburger, nearly.  Well, her pediatrician told her
"that her pain did not merit cutting in the baby's mouth".  I said something
(that I would prefer not to have headlined on the NY Times, so I will
restrain myself in this public forum, but if you really want to know, you can
e-mail me privately  ;-)  ).  Turns out that this mom opted to NOT have the
frenotomy done (we did have a willing dentist at that point) over her
pediatrician's objections.  She felt that the positioning work we did helped
her enough. This was 5 years ago.  Now she's pregnant again.  It will be
interesting to see what happens this time.

Looking forward to hearing your presentation at ILCA - I am getting my list
of stuff ready to study before listening to you!!  Thanks for the preparatory
information!!

Martha Brower RD LD IBCLC, Dayton, OH