What did we do before they started clipping tongue-ties?

[Blessed_Mom]

Hi,

This may be coming from utter ignorance (it is actually) but please don't flame me.

It seems like every other thread I read lately has someone's praising the tongue-tie clipping (henceforth TTC) their LO got and how much better they nursed afterwards. Fine and dandy but one of the reasons moms give for clipping even "mild" tongue ties is that they were afraid their LO was going to end up with a speech impediment.

Really - isn't this whole TTC kind of a new concept? How come we don't have as many of us adults with speech impediments? OR do we? What did we do 200 years ago (Why 200? Because a mod suggested that was the new timeline for when things were different but better )

It seems like we all are jumping on the TTC wagon kind of overzealously.

[hotharmony]

In times past a midwife or the person who delivered babies would check the child for things like tongue tie and clip it with a sharp instrument or pinch it free with their fingers.

It in fact is not something that is new but something that has been happening for thousands of years.

[Beene]

Originally Posted by Blessed_Mom

It seems like we all are jumping on the TTC wagon kind of overzealously.

I thought ttc was trying to conceive.....

[Bokonon]

Do you know for a fact that there weren't many adults with speech impediments 200+ years ago? I would also think that babies who had trouble transferring milk a long time ago would either be supplemented with goat's or cow's milk, and/or would have died.

[gossamerwindweb]

I do know the doctor told my dad to take a pair of clean sharp scissors and clip my brother's tongue tie (this was 1980). The doctor said people have done it on their own at home for ages. Dad did it and no big deal.

[changingseasons]

I would say (in my completely unprofessional opinion) that there WERE no tongue-ties hundreds of years ago. They are part of a whole series of midline defects that are a result of our ever-declining health as a species- caused in part by severe nutritional deficiencies passed down from generation to generation.

[Blessed_Mom]

Originally Posted by changingseasons

I would say (in my completely unprofessional opinion) that there WERE no tongue-ties hundreds of years ago. They are part of a whole series of midline defects that are a result of our ever-declining health as a species- caused in part by severe nutritional deficiencies passed down from generation to generation.

You should have highlighted the NO In my hurry I read it like there WERE tongue-ties and somehow the rest of the post then did not follow through. Had to read it twice

[motherbirth]

My son was tongue-tied and I was working with a craniosacral practitioner, who was saying that there is a theory that it was diet related, but it is definitely congenital. I think it isn't noticed as easily now because fewer people breastfeed.

[lovepiggie]

I'm tongue-tied, but it was never corrected. They took me to get it clipped when I was a baby, but I didn't cooperate with the doctor. My mom had no problems nursing me, and I never had any speech problems. The only thing I couldn't do was eat icecream cones :P

[Serenyd]

My son's tongue tie was never clipped (couldn't find a doc to do it) but it wasn't bad enough to cause him to have speech problems. His tongue is heart-shaped. I did have to supplement his feedings though. My dad was born tt too, and he did have speech problems, but had it clipped when he was 5.

[motherbirth]

I should add to my previous post, my husband is tongue-tied and so are all his nieces and nephews. His mother's milk (and sister's milk) dried up at 4 months or something and no one made the connection.

[pastrygirl]

I don't know, but I would NOT have been able to continue breastfeeding either of my sons. I'm sure my milk would've dried up because they couldn't transfer milk properly.

FWIW, I wasn't concerned about speech impediments. I just wanted to be able breastfeed.

[sam1980]

My son was slightly tongue-tied, and was not diagnosed. I wish someone would have offered to clip it. The LC told me that it looked okay, even though he wouldn't stick his tongue past his gumline (which I now realize he couldn't). He actually couldn't do this until he was about 8 weeks old. His tongue even has the little indention shape at the tip. Sadly, BF'ing was unsuccessful for us. I totally feel it would have worked out if I had an LC or doc who would have caught it (my mom swore that was the problem from birth).

Anyway, I think it is an issue that has been going on a long time and I know 80+ years ago when my grandparents were born (at home )it was done by a midwife or relative.

[boysmom2]

No one noticed ds was tted until he was at the dentist at 5yo. He nursed like a champ until 3.5yo and speaks just fine. It's never been clipped. So, not all need to be. Maybe a lot are being diagnosed and clipped pre-emptively, some of which may never have caused a problem. Maybe that's why it seems like there are so many?

[Kelly1101]

Originally Posted by Bokonon

I would also think that babies who had trouble transferring milk a long time ago would either be supplemented with goat's or cow's milk, and/or would have died.

This. If it wasn't done at home or by a midwife, it probably was either not severe enough to cause a lot of problem, or the baby would be sickly and/or die.

Since now there's formula, I reckon you could supplement rather than clipping the tongue-tie, but it would probably benefit the baby better just to get clipped and keep nursing.

[Abraisme]

My DS was quite tongue tied and was able to eat just fine. It caused me extra pain because of an improper latch, but he wasn't anywhere near starving to death. Also, my mom nursed 3 babies that didn't get their tongues clipped until later. They all nursed just fine..

I don't know about my 3mo old DD because I had her tongue clipped at 3 days old. She was nursing perfectly fine for the first three days though. No latch problems to speak of..

It a really strong genetic trait.. My mother, myself, all my siblings, my children and my one nephew were tongue tied.

[northwoodsmom]

There have always been tongue ties... Back when formula didn't exist, and babies who couldn't nurse had no other options, midwives/doctors would check the tongue at birth and clip it right away. (Some stories say that midwives kept one fingernail extra-long for this purpose - a quick swipe with a sharp nail did the trick.)

It was only in the formula days of the 1900s that people started thinking that clipping tongues wasn't necessary. Now, at least in my area, it's a major undertaking to find a doctor who will clip one! DD#1 is tongue-tied, and though we STRUGGLED with breastfeeding and I asked several HC providers, no one was willing to clip it and I was told that it was not related to our nursing problems. We managed, but just barely. DD#2 is not tongue-tied, and breastfeeding her was easy-peasy. DS (10 months) was... and again, we were struggling with breastfeeding and he was dropping weight like crazy until I found a family doc who would clip his tongue. Magic -- he started transferring milk and gaining weight!

It's one of those cases where modern medicine really doesn't know best, IMHO.

BTW, DD#1 still has a tied tongue... NO speech problems despite the fact that her tongue won't go past her lower teeth, but I wonder if it might be a factor in her severely narrow upper palate. I'm going to ask her orthodontist at her next appt -- while we talk about what to do next with her palate expander, head gear, and $3k of ortho bills at 9 years old.

[*Aimee*]

DH has a tt and his mother nursed him until he was over 2. DS2 was born with one and we had it clipped. DH hates that his wasn't and is going to do it. He has no speech impediments but it hurts him when he talks a lot. its such a simple procedure he doesn't see the point in not doing it.

[FondestBianca]

I can't speak for others for clear reasons nor can I say what is a serious tongue tie vs a minor tie.

I can imagine that people with a tie the degree that mine was until I had it clipped at age 21 went on to have some sort of trouble with certian parts of speech as I did with saying the letter R (I couldn't push the center of my tongue to the roof of my mouth) and avoid saying their own name because of it. I'd also gather that things like eating and talking became increasingly painful over the years and eventually they planned meals and conversations around how sore their tongue was.

I was beyond glad when I finally had mine clipped. A minor tie may not have any effect whatsoever. Even with my troubles I've left both of my kid's tongues alone. Both had trouble with latch but I found with my son (my 2nd) that it was more to do with my own preception of why BFing was or wasn't working it's best and my ability to just put up with some pain and frustrating times until things naturally improved on their own (BFing wasn't nipple shield free until 6 months and not pain free until about 7 or 8 months).

I think good rule for BFing may be that if they can get their tongue over their teeth they'll eventually manage fine without help. As far as the speech and pain issue goes... idk. I could get my tongue past my teeth (I was mostly bottle fed so I don't know if my tie affected BFing or not) but that didn't prevent some speech issues and pain for 21 years. Got worse with age rather than better.

In my situation, I wish I'd had mine clipped when I was a baby. Would have saved me a lot of trouble and a few stitches. That being said, I'm leaving my kids alone unless they begin to have to same troubles that I did.

[fruitfulmomma]

My midwife said that the older midwives kept a sharp finger nail and would just run it under the tongues of all babies to make sure it was loose.

My youngest has one (and all the kids are tied on the upper frenulum) and so far it has not caused her too many problems. She had a bit of a time getting latched on but we worked it out. Her speech seems okay right now. So, we'll see.