Tongue Tie Midwives Yorkshire – Tongue Tie and Infant Feeding Specialist

Tongue Tie and Infant Feeding Specialists

Welcome to our website. We are Katie and Donna and we are a midwifery partnership.

We have over 30 years combined clinical midwifery experience, and are registered midwives with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

We are qualified tongue tie specialists, having completed our training with the University of Wolverhampton, and we are registered with the Association of Tongue Tie Practitioners (ATP).

Who Are We?

Having worked together within the National Health Service (NHS) as Tongue Tie Specialist Midwives, we have extensive knowledge and experience around feeding difficulties, and the recognition and treatment of all variants of Tongue Tie.

We are regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and pride ourselves on providing a caring, unhurried and fully holistic service.

Appointments are offered to any baby up to 6 months of age (sometimes older if you enquire), and we see babies regardless of whether they are breast or bottle feeding.

We will always work as a partnership within our clinics to ensure that we can offer a safe and secure space where your individual needs can be discussed and met.

If you are struggling with feeding and don’t know why, trust your gut and book for an assessment with a qualified Tongue Tie Specialist.

Why choose Tongue Tie Midwives Yorkshire?

What Is A Tongue Tie?

Many babies have a piece of membrane under their tongue (the lingual frenulum), and often this does not cause the baby any problems. The frenulum is part of our normal anatomy.

However, in some babies this frenulum may be short, tight and attached close to the tip of the tongue (easily seen), or may be further back in the tongue, which can be less easy to see and is often only felt. Restrictions in tongue movement and function can then lead to feeding difficulties.

The incidence of tongue tie is thought to occur in up to 10% of babies, and can be inherited.

How Does A Tongue Tie Affect Babies?

For babies to feed effectively, babies need to be able to open their mouth wide and move their tongue forward to cover the gum ridge. This allows babies to cup the breast or bottle teat in their mouth to stabilize, which then creates a seal with the lips and tongue, forming a vacuum.

The back of the tongue needs to be free to elevate, not only to perform a correct suck/swallow pattern (without excessive air intake), but also to undulate like a wave during feeding (peristalsis).

Tongue tie results in feeding difficulties that are not specific to whether you are breast or bottle feeding. Therefore, changing the method of feeding does not change the function of the tongue.

If your baby is having feeding difficulties, seek support from a Tongue Tie Specialist who will assess oral function. This will determine whether any treatment is necessary.

What Are The Signs And Symptoms of A Tongue Tie?

YOUR BABY may show some of the following symptoms:

• Poor attachment to the nipple and/or teat

• Struggles to maintain a latch

• Weight loss or poor weight gain

• Fussiness at the breast

• Frequent feeds

• Not content after feeds

• Dribbles when feeding

• Clicking

• Slow to feed / tires whilst feeding

• Coughing or choking

• Excessive hiccups

• Prolonged jaundice

• Vomiting and/or reflux

• Colic

• Milk tongue (often mistaken for thrush)

• Lip blisters

• Sleeping with mouth open

YOU MAY experience the following symptoms

• Pain during feeding

• Mishappen / sore nipples

• Engorgement due to the incomplete breast drainage

• Blocked ducts

• Mastitis

Testimonials

Such kind and professional ladies who really reassured us and worked their magic after weeks of trying different milks/teats etc. From day one after procedure - she has taken her bottles better and been more chilled out and happy.

What an amazing experience at this clean, beautiful clinic with these two experienced, kind, informative and professional ladies. My daughter's tongue tie was assessed and divided and such a thorough job was done. They were so accommodating and put us, as parents, at ease with clear information and explaining throughout Thank you so so much.

Katie and Donna were amazing and really took the time to listen to our history and struggles and finally made us feel heard after being dismissed by others. I feel we can finally bond at feeding times, rather than dreading it. Very happy to recommend their service to anyone who is struggling with feeding.

My little boy was seen at the Tongue Tie Clinic. Katie and Donna explained everything that was going to happen, talked me through the assessment, performed the frenulotomy with no issues and then they both spent time to make sure my son breastfed after and showed me another position to try. They both made the whole thing bearable. They are warm, friendly and I couldn't have asked for anything else. Thank you.

It was a super relaxed environment. I was very emotional at the time, however, both Katie and Donna were so understanding and made the whole process so much easier. We weren't rushed out of the door and was given plenty of time to feed. I would 100% recommend visiting these two if you are worried about symptoms. We were seen and sorted very promptly. Thank you both for helping our son with his feeding journey.

Tongue Tie and Infant Feeding Specialists

Who Are We?

Why choose Tongue Tie Midwives Yorkshire?

CQC Registered

Clinical Expertise

Early Appointments

Easily Accessible