Yes, Pat, I notice celebrities and tv personalities all the time who clearly have TT Even my older kids can spot them, but they have been theater majors, taking lots of speech classes, so they notice. I think far more than 5% or even 10% of kids have TT. I also think it is more often a problem than not. 

Sharon Vallone and I have noticed that a lot of special needs kids who have feeding problems have untreated TT--that feeding problems are considered inherent in their conditions, so no one evaluates the TT. And while many kids can bf with TT, the consequences are often so initially subtle or considered normal as to be overlooked. 

My 17yr old daughter has a posterior TT, very high palate and perfect teeth. She spoke very early and had an excellent vocabulary from an early age. Everyone understood her. She nursed for 5 years. The first year was so difficult that I do not think I would have gotten through it if she had been my first and if I had not been tandem-nursing her older bother such that I had a massive oversupply. I had 6 bouts of full-blown mastitis in 6 months (grateful for homeopathy--no meds of course) I had no pain, but she was so miserable. In hindsight I see so many associated problems that I never understood. I solved symptoms as they arose, but if only she had been clipped! Most people would have addressed the whole thing as just an oversupply, but I know the oversupply was caused by the TT. 

I think this a perfect study in epigenetics--a genetic component, the switch is flipped at some point or not--I think it is being flipped on more and more often due to the toxicity of the mother's body, due to a either/or a combination of environmental toxicity (which often inhibits nutrient uptake), poor nutrition and gut damage, maternal stress, deficiency in fat soluble vitamins (including vit D deficiency), etc. Before I was pregnant with my children, I had been a photographer for many years--I had a darkroom in my house--she still some of those heavy metals in her body--I think the emotional stress during my pregnancy with her caused her to be exposed to far more heavy metals than my older child and I detoxed before I had another child. She is the only one with a TT. N of one, but I am very observant with TT kids and I see a lot of them. IMO, we need to focus on cleaning up the mother's internal and external environments before pregnancy. 


 

Jennifer Tow, IBCLC, CT, USA
Intuitive Parenting Network, LLC





ate:    Sun, 10 Jan 2010 17:29:39 -0600
From:    gima <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Tongue Tie/observation and speculation

Have any of you noticed tongue tie in news-type people on TV?  The 
lower-jaw shape or manner of movement,  the restriction or prominence 
of the tongue, etc.  They have all overcome the speech problems but 
it is obvious there is still a functional challenge. I am made aware 
because of noticing TONGUES as they talk.  The tongues are usually 
flat against the floor of the mouth and are prominent throughout 
their presentations, with cheeks and jaws compensating.

I say "news-type" people because my TV watching seems to be limited 
to such programming.  I wonder it those with the speech challenge 
went on to prove to themselves that they have learned to speak very well.

As to rate of tongue tie, I saw a lot of it when I was working and I 
saw a problem-scewed population.  I had one ENT who did clipping for 
my clients and I often accompanied them because they were scared of 
the procedure.  With rare exception, when the clipping was completed 
and they put baby to breast as the doctor had directed them, the most 
common response was, "It doesn't hurt!" Further fine-tuning was 
needed but breastfeeding was saved. For these breastfeeding couples 
clipping was a make/break situation.

Perhaps in a culture where every baby must be fed at the breast, 
tongue tie is not a problem to be solved but just an adjustment for a while.

I have wondered that if it has a hereditary component, do we see more 
of it in the U.S. because we have more generations who were 
bottle-fed and who survived, avoiding natural selection. Some years 
ago there was speculation on environmental toxins that are so common 
in the U.S as a cause of increased incidence of tongue tie, having 
affected the fetuses.

I am particularly interested in whether others of you have detected 
adults on TV with signs of restricted tongues.

Pat Gima

Mailto:[log in to unmask] 



 



 


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