Tongue-tie division in the newborn: Follow-up at 9 and 38 months

There is currently very little data available that describe the medium-term breastfeeding outcomes of mother/baby dyads who have previously had tongue-tie (TT) division in the neonatal period. As well the effects seen on introducing solids, speech development and dental health post TT division is described poorly. This study aims to review these outcomes in children up to 3 years of age. We undertook a cohort follow-up study on all mother/baby dyads who had a TT divided at Canberra Hospital between 1 July 2013 and 30 June 2014. The mothers were contacted by telephone at 9 and 38 months and we asked them specific questions, focusing on breastfeeding, solids intake and speech and dental outcomes. We followed up 109/185 (58.9%) and 112/185 (60.5%) mother/baby dyads and breastfeeding rates were 68/108 (63.0%) and 5/112 (4.5%) at 9 and 38 months respectively. The prevalence of perceived speech and dental problems attributed to the TT was found to be 2/112 (1.8%) and 8/112 (7.1%) respectively. This follow-up study has shown an increased rate of breastfeeding compared to the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) average. There was no difference in the timeline for introducing solid foods. The prevalence of both speech and dental problems as perceived by mothers in this cohort appeared to be lower than the corresponding national data.