Tongue Tie Troubles

By Heidi Henrickson, DC, DACCP, IBCLC
Chiropractric Physician
International Board Certified Lactation Consultant

Breastfeeding can be incredibly challenging especially when a baby's lip or tongue are held too tightly by a thick string.  It can feel like you need ten hands to hold the baby, your breast or bottle, the breast shield PLUS have to pump after THEN feed that to the baby and somehow eat, sleep and possibly take care of other children. Together we can help you solve most breastfeeding challenges and get you back to enjoying your baby.

Imagine your own tongue being tied down to the floor of your mouth such that you practically choke every time you eat or drink much less try to speak.  It makes it really hard to suck, swallow and breath when the tongue is not moving freely.So a baby gets quite resourceful and will use their jaw mucles to do a chewing type motion instead.  That creates a very chompy type of latch while feeding.  Ouch! Or worse, they can't even get latched on the breast or bottle.  They use all their energy chomping and fall asleep within mere minutes only to awake shortly hungry and crying yet again.
​

Ok, so can you just cut the strings and everything will be fine? It helps, but no, it isn't that easy.  The muscular tension winds far deeper into the body than just the tongue as it dives further into the front of the neck down toward the collar bones, winds around the chest and spine all the way deep into the toes. This can pull the baby's head forward making them look like they have no neck and contribute to the challenges of cleaning out the neck creases. It might be hard to get them dressed or clean in armpit due to arm tension. It makes tummy time harder too and contributes to mouth breathing.

---

---

Common complaints often related to infant body tension & tongue tie

• clicking sounds while nursing
• difficulty latching or refusal to even latch
• tension in neck, "my baby is so tight"
• head positioning preference or head flattening
• difficulty opening mouth wide enough to latch
• difficulty staying awake to nurse
• choking, gagging or spitting up
• low milk supply or not emptying
• nipple pain, plugged ducts, mastitis
• inability to keep pacifier in mouth
• weight gain issues
• crying when onesie is placed over head
• slow to drain a bottle or messy eater
• very cranky, colicy baby