How is it diagnosed?

It is often missed since it is not routinely checked for. However it can cause problems with breastfeeding and sometimes bottle feeding since the infant cannot latch correctly if at all.

The mother may have problems getting the baby to latch; or suffer with painful nipples or mastitis; or in worse cases the baby may fail to gain weight since he cannot get enough milk. It can be diagnosed by looking in the baby’s mouth and by also palpating under the tongue for a ridge, as well as assessing the mobility of the tongue. In some cases, there may be a tongue tie but the issue with latching is not the tongue but a restriction in the baby’s neck or jaw or sometimes further down the baby’s spine.
From my experience, it is usually better to get the baby checked by an osteopath before getting the tongue released. I have seen some cases where getting the tongue release done has made no difference to feeding or baby’s symptoms. In many cases it has helped but usually some body work is also needed.

How does it affect the baby?
For most babies it can contribute to issues with wind due to swallowing too much air during feeds. It can in some cases contribute to reflux if the posterior part of the tongue is not moving properly. For most babies it is also going to affect how they feed. Since their tongues are not moving as they should, they can spill a lot of milk during feeds, or have difficulty latching onto the breast or bottle, they may get very unsettled or frustrated during feeds, it can become painful for mum and can cause mastitis or cracked nipples. Later on it can affect spoon feeds and speech.