The Effect of Tongue-Tie Revisions on Breastfeeding Outcomes

A short and thickened lingual frenulum characterizes tongue-ties. Infants with this condition are likely to have issues with their latch, weight gain, and the ability to breastfeed exclusively. Mothers typically struggle with nipple pain and trauma. Tongue-tie procedures have become increasingly more popular as families turn to this intervention when struggling with breastfeeding.

The purpose of this quality improvement project is to collect data on tongue-tie revision procedures to explore the benefits, risks, and patient satisfaction with the clinical process. Questionnaires were created to collect information on tongue-tie revisions. Participants were asked to identify symptoms related both to the mother and infant. The type of feeding was assessed before and after to identify if the tongue-tie revisions increased exclusive breastfeeding. Likert-type scales were used to address maternal nipple pain, overall improvements in breastfeeding, and patient experience.

A total of 36 participants completed the pre-op questionnaire, and 22 completed the post-op questionnaires over four months. The results found that this was a low-risk procedure that helped improve breastfeeding or maternal and infant symptoms. There should be continued efforts to find ways to continue to collect this data, as it will increase the awareness of tongue-tie’s effect on breastfeeding.