Did You Know?

Tongue Tie Can Impact Your Baby’s Emotional Health.

While pediatricians, dentists and parents have begun to really evaluate the impact that tongue-tie has on breastfeeding, we now know that tongue tie can also impact your baby’s emotional health? Babies are born with a need to eat and suckle and Dr. Strutz suggests, “As they search for the breast in order to latch on, they are also looking for emotional security that is provided through breastfeeding.”

But babies who are not able to gain access to their mother and get the comfort they need can become more stressed and frustrated. This level of frustration can then impact the overall stress level of the mother. Once the baby begins to have difficulty when attempting to breastfeed, the milk production of a mother can decrease as well, causing the mother to become stressed, and the cycle continues. The baby tries to feed, they are unable, they become stressed, you, as a new mom become even more stressed, and milk production decreases.

To stop the cycle, a laser tongue-tie procedure may be just what is needed to help to fix the tongue and improve your baby’s ability to successfully breastfeed. Contact Dr. Judy Strutz & her team today for more help.

Why Your Infant Should Have Frenectomy Surgery

Some doctors may recommend you wait for your baby to have a frenectomy surgery. Dr. Judith Strutz however, recommends having this procedure done sooner in order to increase your baby’s ability to nurse correctly and reduce the risk of a greater impact later on.

When babies are nursing they should be able to comfortably latch on and feed. When your baby has a maxillary frenectomy or tongue-tie it can cause your son or daughter to attempt to latch on at the side of their mouth instead of directly on. It can also cause you an extreme amount of pain if they are latched on incorrectly.   While the first few days of breastfeeding a brand new baby can be very trying, increased pain from an improper feeding position can cause any new mom to give up on the process.

When babies are nursing, if they are not latched on correctly, they may not be getting the necessary amount of food they need in order to maintain their weight and grow. On average after a baby is born they loose a few pounds. Proper nutrition is critical for these little ones to fight off infections and to boost their fragile immune systems.

Tongue-tied babies can almost immediately latch on and eat correctly after the surgery has been performed. Due to modern technology this surgery tends to be very smooth and easy for babies.   A laser is used to cut the extra skin and the wound is cauterized. While it takes a short amount of time to completely heal, your baby should be able to eat almost immediately.

If your little one was born with a frenum issue, contact Dr. Strutz and her team today for more information.