Hi,
I am NOMAIL at the moment, so please email replies. TIA.

I am looking for a doctor to diagnose and possibly treat tongue-tie in
the London area/SE England. So far, two GP's have seen this baby and
diagnosed some tongue-tie, but refuse to even refer, let alone discuss
options. Their opinion seems to be that it is a trivial problem, the
operation has more risks than benefits and if the mother can't stand the
pain, she should bottle-feed. The mother has had no success with
pumping, and her first child is dairy allergic and suffered anaphylaxis
and a form of kidney failure when he was initially given standard
formula (the mother was told she couldn't breastfeed because she was too
anaemic, following a haemorrhage), so she would rather suffer agony than
risk ABM on her second child.

This mother is *very* determined, but she is frustrated due to medical
ignorance in her area. We need a doctor who can identify tongue-tie and
who can assess whether a frenotomy is a possible solution (and then
actually perform the procedure), or if this situation will not be
significantly helped by surgery. She has dispaired of getting the help
she needs on the NHS, so is willing to pay.

Incidently, we have no idea how common this problem is, but the
difficulty this mother is having suggests that most mothers with this
problem end up weaning very quickly. She is highly motivated, well
educated, confident, not easily bullied by doctors and knowledgeable
about breastfeeding, and yet she has only succeeded for the past 8 weeks
through sheer willpower. IMHO, this is not good enough. I think she
feels like getting a T-shirt printed with the words "Formula is not an
option" written on it :-( Maybe frenotomy is not the answer, but she
would at least like to be able to *discuss* it, with a doctor who truely
values breastfeeding. To date, our search is frankly depressing.
--
Anna (mummy to Emma, born 17th Jan 1995 and Alice, born 11th Sept 1996)
Email: [log in to unmask]  Web Page: http://www.ratbag.demon.co.uk/anna