...he's finally being put on your breast. The birth is over! Now, baby, all you have to do is eat milk and grow to the joy of mom and dad! However, very few new mothers manage to avoid the problems of the first days of lactation. There are many reasons why a baby doesn't latch on well or refuses to suckle milk on their own. But there is one in particular...
– Oh, look! He has a tongue like a heart!
Yes, the baby opens his mouth, and if the feature is strongly expressed, then his tongue is in the shape of an inverted heart. And all because the edge of the tongue is "grown" - it is pulled by a very short frenulum.
Because of this, he cannot properly latch on to the breast and suck, his tongue mobility is limited, and he is literally tied up.
The baby sucks for a long time and noisily, is clearly very tired, does not eat enough, cries and does not gain weight well.
And much later, because of this, he will have difficulties, at least with the letter R.
Why might this go unnoticed?
In the hustle and bustle of the first weeks, not every mother will notice this feature, even if it is very pronounced. Especially if the tongue is "grown" less. In general, this should be checked right in the maternity hospital by a neonatologist - and it is easy to fix right there. But for some reason this does not happen, there are hundreds of stories in our collection.
How is the problem solved?
The procedure is called frenulotomy and takes literally a second – the neonatologist cuts the frenulum in one motion. In the first weeks, while the frenulum is very thin, it is painless. Later, you will have to contact a surgeon, but it still takes a few minutes.
You should see a nursing mother a couple of days after cutting the baby's bridle! It's a surprise mixed with admiration: everything went well so quickly?! What, was it possible?!
What to do?
Now you know what to ask the neonatologist at the maternity hospital if you are about to give birth. And if you are suffering from GV - come to us, our pediatrician will figure out what the reason is, and we will definitely help!