I don't know if any of the following folks ever had a trial of breastfeeding, or what their mothers may have gone through, but my consciousness really seems to have been raised by all we have been learning about tongue tie. 


Just this a. m. on national TV I saw an example. This was a brilliant professional person who probably had a lot of money, time and effort ploughed into his upbringing because of tongue tie. It was patently evident not only from his facial characteristics but most noticeably from the obvious muscle effort that had to go into producing his erudite, understandable speech. How tired his muscles must get as a professor!


There is a local TV commercial featuring someone who is also obviously tongue tied. I am more  frequently finding myself distracted in social situations when I abruptly recognize tell-tale speech symptoms when others begin to speak! Of course, better judgement most times tells me to keep my mouth shut to the people involved. It does, after all, seem to be a disability to be respected, and not my professional responsibility to "fix".


But it makes me think of the "old days" a half century and more ago at the hospital where I trained and worked in OB for 23 years. The GP's did most of the deliveries, and since both mom and baby were their patients, within 24 hours, they automatically checked every infant for obvious TT at their thorough physical exam, and clipped if indicated, no questions (or permissions) asked. The grooved tongue director was included in the circumcision pack. 


Despite wonderful advances in perinatal and neonatal medicine, this practice virtually disappeared in the "territorial" changeover to obstetrician/pediatrician care., Medical education unfortunately carried on the erroneous theories in this particular matter, and I'll bet many of you are also beginning to notice the results that certainly came home to roost.


But it strikes me that there must surely be an "emerging market" for child, teen and adult TT correction if sufficient publicity is eventually generated by the dental and ENT communities in particular. TV might be a fertile place for that;-)

K. Jean Cotterman RNC-E, IBCLC
WIC Volunteer LC, Dayton OH


Let's all continue to be vigilant and raise consiousness in parents, and staff about thorough understandng and vigilance in spotting potential signs of ankyloglossia promptly so the parents can have some choices in the early stages of their child's life. 

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