Tongue tie (also known as ankyloglossia or restricted lingual frenulum) is caused by a short membrane under the tongue which can restrict movement and function. It may not cause any problems, but in some cases, it may cause feeding difficulties. However, not all tongue ties are the cause of feeding problems.
Tongue tie is thought to affect approximately 1 in 10 babies, and NHS data indicates it is on the increase with more parents seeking support and tongue tie divisions (frenotomy) for their babies. Health visitors and skill mix teams are ideally placed to support families and their babies with feeding difficulties and connect them with appropriate services for further assessment and support, but it’s not clear cut. There are significant gaps in research on this topic, with further research needed to inform practice. As a result, across the UK there are wide variations in service provision within the NHS, criteria for referral, waiting times for assessment, views on treatment and follow up, and this is creating much discussion.
At this Insights event, we continued the discussions. Those involved in research, service delivery and a user of the service discussed and shared their knowledge and experience to support health visiting practice.
Speakers included:
- Phyll Buchanan – Breastfeeding Network Tutor and Supervisor. Patient and public involvement representative and co-investigator on the FROSTTIE RCT.
- Sarah Winspear Health Visitor and Infant Feeding Lead, Redcar and Cleveland, and Laura Paterson, Specialist Midwife Infant Feeding Lead, South Teesside, presented on the development and implementation of a tongue tie clinic and share evidence of early outcomes.
- Helen Smith, Infant Feeding Co-ordinator and BFI Project Lead, Swindon 0-19 Public health Nursing Service
- Rosie Duck, parent with experience – shared personal experiences of her baby’s tongue tie, management, treatment and outcomes.
*Please note – Due to a technical error one slide is missing from Sarah Winspear and Laura Paterson’s presentation. Please see the below PDF of the slides for this event where all slides are included*