Why do GP’s dismiss tongue ties?

Looking down at my newborn baby’s crinkly face, as she slept peacefully in my arms, I was in absolute awe and wonder. What an amazing experience it was to enter this wonderful world of motherhood. As I lay there, revelling in this moment, little did I realise that the next 12 months would become a long journey of confusion.

When I had my first baby, I received some initial support from the midwives, to establish breastfeeding in hospital. A few weeks later I saw my GP for a check-up and asked my GP about some issues my daughter was having. My GP assured me that my daughter ‘just had colic’, and should be feeding every 4 hours now that she was 4 weeks old. 

For the next 12 months, we were to suffer extremely broken sleep due to my daughter’s ongoing problems with trapped wind which was causing her abdominal pain. From 5 months onwards in particular I refer to as the ‘zombie zone’, as I’m not sure how I even functioned.

Late in her first year, I discovered that my daughter had a lip and tongue tie. In my determination to find a solution and bring relief to my daughter, I found an experienced provider of lip and tongue tie procedures and my daughter had her lip and tongue ties released. After the release procedure was completed, we experienced a great wash of relief over us and our little family, as she finally started sleeping more peacefully, with much less trapped wind and much less pain in her poor little body.

A year earlier, with that 4 week old baby in my arms, how was I supposed to know that my GP had no training in breastfeeding or tongue ties? In fact, almost no one that I had consulted since the birth, including the expensive private paediatrician, the midwives at the hospital and the staff at the GP clinic, had more than 10-15 hours of breastfeeding training in their qualifications.

This is something I believe all new mums should know about, preferably, before they even have the baby! The common story of a new mum seeing more than 10 medical professionals and receiving terrible breastfeeding support just breaks my heart. I want mums to know that there is support out there but it is not with the professionals that you would initially expect to be able to assist.

Regarding tongue and lip ties, often when mums ask in mum-to-mum support groups about issues they are having with breastfeeding, the suggestion of oral restrictions as a possible cause is made. Those mums seeking advice will then ask their GP at their next visit, as their standard care provider. The GP will most often dismiss the suggestion, lecture the mum on avoiding this so-called 'fad' or simply say that ties don't affect breastfeeding.

Why do GP's dismiss tongue ties?

1. They don't have any specific training in oral restrictions, oral function or breastfeeding.

We know that general health practitioners’ qualifications do not cover tongue ties or their impacts on breastfeeding, airways, speech or eating. Even obstetric GP's do not have any extra training in breastfeeding! So unless the particular GP has sought additional training, you may wish to take their advice with an open mind to other possibilities. The number of GP's who have completed training related to tongue ties is very low in Australia.

2. They don't see it often enough.

Breastfeeding mothers make up only a small percentage of the patients in a GP's clinic, so they are not likely to recognise patterns, witness increases in issues or have the opportunity to connect the dots.

3. They don't know what they don't know.

A lot of tongue tie knowledge has become available in the last 10 years only, and as a nation, we're still waiting for that knowledge to filter down to most medical professionals and tertiary education. Often GP's are not aware of International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLC's) that they could be referring mums to for breastfeeding issues. They often do not know that many infant health issues are actually related to breastfeeding.

I went on to have a renewed experience with my daughter, enjoying breastfeeding together. She is now a happy and confident child, who is enjoying life.

If you have consulted various medical professionals and you are not feeling confident in their advice, I can help. I am a Mama, Breastfeeding Mentor and Parent Advocate and I help mums experiencing issues with breastfeeding, lip and tongue ties to find the next step in their journey. In my coaching, I incorporate evidence-based advice from the World Health Organization (WHO) and other leading health bodies.  We can work through what you've experienced so far and develop a plan for you and your child.

Let’s move you from confused to confident!