NEWS | New NHS tongue tie clinic opened for babies in Herefordshire

A baby brother and sister are the first babies to receive treatment at Wye Valley NHS Trust’s new tongue tie clinic at Hereford County Hospital, which opened this month.

The midwifery led new tongue tie clinic offers quick and painless tongue-tie divisions to make it easier for babies to feed.  Dedicated midwives are specially trained to carry out the minor procedure on babies who are up to ten weeks old.

The clinic brings treatment closer to home for parents and their babies, including parents Charlotte and Adam Russell who attended the clinic recently with their twins Oscar and Poppy who have both recently undergone the tongue tie division.

Charlotte Russell, mother of Oscar and Poppy, said: “We are so grateful to the lovely maternity staff who carried out the procedure.  It is amazing to have this service locally. It has really helped so much to support their feeding and we could really see the benefits following the procedure.”

Arwen Nixon, Public Health Midwife at Wye Valley NHS Trust, said: “We are very pleased to be able to offer this treatment locally, which we know will make a difference to parents and their babies.   Babies with tongue tie can have difficulty feeding and the condition can cause problems for breastfeeding mothers, such as low milk supply and mastitis.

“The procedure we carry out is very simple and only takes a few seconds to complete. Mums are able to start feeding their baby straight afterwards, with many finding it much easier once the procedure has taken place.

“If you think that your baby may have tongue tie please discuss this with your midwife, health visitor or GP for a referral to be made to the tongue clinic at Hereford County Hospital. Treatment is only necessary if the tongue-tie is making it difficult for the baby to feed and we will assess this at the first appointment.”

A tongue-tie may cause feeding difficulties in both breast and bottle fed babies, including:

• difficulty latching
• difficulty sustaining latch
• colic, wind, flatulence
• prolonged weight loss
• prolonged jaundice
• static weight
• prolonged feeds – frequent feeding – noisy feeds (clicking) – dribbling during feeds – restless between feeds – unsettled post feeds
• heart shaped tongue

Mum’s who are breastfeeding a baby with tongue tie may experience any of the following:

• Engorgement – mastitis – painful feeds – sore / damaged nipples – reduced milk supply – misshapen or discoloured nipples post feed

If you suspect that your baby may have tongue tie contact your midwife, health visitor or GP for a referral to be made to the tongue clinic at Hereford County Hospital.