FEEDING time can be stressful when you have a little one.
Especially if it looks like something is going wrong.
Pictured: a baby with blisters on their lips suggestive of tongue-tie Credit: milkmatterpt
According to one doctor, if your baby has little blisters on his or her lips it could be a sign of a health condition which makes it hard for baby’s to eat, known as tongue-tie.
Tongue-tie is where the strip of skin connecting the baby’s tongue to the bottom of their mouth is shorter than usual.
Some babies who have tongue-tie do not seem to be bothered by it. In others, it can restrict the tongue’s movement, making it harder to breastfeed.
“These are lip blisters and they are one of the many signs that can indicate oral restrictions,” Doctor Gigi Tadros, a baby tongue expert from the US, said in a social media post.
“When a baby needs to remain latched, but has a restricted tongue, the lips have to compensate.
“The lips become the primary seal to get the milk they need. The lips are basically holding on for dear life and that’s why these blisters form.
“You may see one large one in the middle of the upper lip, or many small ones, that turned white right after a feed,” she explained on her Instagram.
Other signs of tongue-tie include:
painful nursing or damaged nipplesmisshaped lipstick nipples after a feedfrustration at the breastclicking soundssensitive gag reflexpoor weight gainlow lying tonguegassinessspit-up or reflux-type symptomsrecessed chinhigh palaterecurring clogged ducts
If any of these symptoms sound familiar, please find a provider who is trained in tongue ties, the expert said
“Not all paediatrians or dentists are knowledgeable to recognise or diagnose them,” she added.
Tongue-tie division involves cutting the short, tight piece of skin connecting the underside of the tongue to the bottom of the mouth.
It’s a quick, simple and almost painless procedure that usually improves feeding straight away, the NHS website says.
Untreated tongue-tie may not cause any problems as a child gets older, and any tightness may resolve naturally as the mouth develops.
However, tongue-tie can sometimes cause problems such as speech difficulties and difficulty eating certain foods.