I'm amazed at the fact that MDs hem and haw about a clipping of a tongue tie but they don't think twice about a circumcision. Circs are very painful. They strap the baby in the circ board and away they cut. The poor little guys scream bloody murder! Most people have the circ done for looks. A tongue tie, if left intact, can cause several permanent problems. First, you've got the breast feeding issue and the chance that there won't be good milk transfer then you've created the vicious cycle of milk problems and the chance that Mom quits. Both Mom and baby loose if this is the case. Second, structure follows function. One of the many benefits of being a breast fed baby is that you'll grow up good looking! The facial development is influenced greatly by how a child sucks. If there is a tongue tie then the child may not be sucking correctly. He may have to compensate for the tongue tie and adjust his suck as best as he can to get his nutrition and comfort. When a child is breast fed the face develops the way nature intended it to. Hopefully, the child has a wide mouth with ample room for teeth so that he won't need braces in the future and if he does it is a mild case just to straighten things a tad. Another problem that results from a tongue tie is a speech problem. The child can't move his tongue correctly to speak properly. Now, the child and parents are faced with many hours of speech lessons which may or may not help. NOW, with just these three reasons, why are MDs so hesitent to perform a virtually PAINLESS procedure? The most upsetting part about the procedure to the baby is probably being mummified in order to immobilize him so that they can snip without worring about a moving target. Rachel Pfab RN, IBCLC I too, have had my fair share of MDs who think it isn't necessary! *********************************************** The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html