The aim of the website is to support parents and health-care providers when a baby is diagnosed as having a tongue-tie.
Tongue tie (ankyloglossia) is a description of when the frenulum under the tongue is over-tight or appears thickened restricting tongue movement.
Some studies suggest that tongue-tie occurs in around 4% of infants, although it is not certain what the incidence of tongue-tie is in Ireland. Tongue-tie can occur in various degrees of severity and there is debate as to whether surgical intervention is needed to support breastfeeding. For general information and images of tongue-tie you may find it helpful to see the Australian website of www.tonguetie.net and the UK's Baby Friendly webpages on tongue-tie.
The procedure of separation of tongue-tie is known as frenotomy or frenulectomy, and is not usually carried out in Ireland unless there are speech problems in childhood. However, a small number of doctors in Ireland acknowledge that the condition may cause breastfeeding problems and sore nipples for the mother, and so recommend assessment of the mobility of the tongue and sometimes frenotomy.
In many countries division of tongue-tie is often performed when a baby is only days old if it is thought to be causing difficulties with feeding. In the United Kingdom, the National Health Service has produced guidelines which outline the effectiveness of the procedure (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence 2005).
This website is currently under construction but it is planned that a directory of doctors in Ireland who will release tongue-tie will be created. The directory will be posted on this website shortly.
If you wish to make contact with any comments or queries, please email claire@allcutt.me.uk