Today I was once again presented with the straw man of the
tongue tie vs. circumcision. You see, there are some people who would try and
tell you that you shouldn’t be for clipping a tongue tie if you are against circumcision,
as if the two issues are the same. Surely, you must be a hypocrite if you
support clipping a tongue or lip tie but are against circumcision, right?! I’m going to
break this argument down for those who may be at a loss to explain the
difference or for those who may think it’s a worthy argument to make.
What is a tongue tie and why clip it? I could post an entire
entry on what the tongue tie is (or lip tie, they are both worth looking into)
and why it can cause problems with breastfeeding and other areas of health/development. There are many people who have provided
commentary on this and I'll include some sources at the bottom but briefly: A tongue tie is a small piece of skin or frenulum that connects the tissue
of the tongue to the bottom of the mouth and a lip tie is much the same but it
connects the tissue of the lip to the area above the teeth or sometimes into
the gumline. There is discussion that it can be genetic, that nutrition may
play a role or that they are a type of birth defect. Not every person has one, it’s
an abnormality and there are different variations and levels of severity. The
more severe a tongue or lip tie the more restricted the movement of the tongue
or lip. They can cause problems with a baby’s ability to breastfeed by
impairing the ability to move the tongue or flange the lips. Milk transfer can
be poor, weight gain may be slow, it can be extremely painful for the mother
and as the child gets older they may have difficulty with solids, speaking and
in the case of the lip tie they might develop a gap between their teeth and be
more prone to tooth decay in the area around the tie. Many moms may suffer
through this before switching to formula and feel like they failed at
breastfeeding. As a result ALL of the
risks of formula on both mother and child and the effects of loss of
breastfeeding (grief, regret, PPD, increased risk of cancers) are something
that can be included in the risk of NOT separating a tongue or lip tie.
In the past, before formula culture, it is said that
midwives and doctors would release the tongue tie (clip it) as soon as they
noticed it because they knew the issues a mom could face. It literally could
save the life of a baby who was not able to nurse properly. As time passed and
more mothers used formula less doctors were trained in diagnosing and treating
a tongue tie.
We are talking about correcting an abnormality that has
multiple known complications when not corrected. There are NO health benefits
to keeping a tongue tie intact. There are many detriments. Typically after a
tongue or lip tie has been released the baby goes straight back to nursing,
there is very little blood, very little pain and almost INSTANT improvement of
breastfeeding.
Now, let’s talk about circumcision. It is a birth defect to
NOT be born with a prepuce. Every human, both male and female, is
born with this organ, in males it is the foreskin and in females the clitoral
hood. Removal of the foreskin can cause issues with breastfeeding (See above
about including all of the health risks for cessation of breastfeeding),
infection, blood loss, death, loss of penis, disfiguration, decreased
sensation, increased risk of erectile dysfunction, PTSD, and the list just goes
on. Male circumcision became popular in the United States as a “cure” for
masturbation and since then has become a “cure in search of a disease.” There
are many DEBUNKED myths that people claim as “health benefits.” But the fact is
that it is an unnecessary cosmetic surgery that has great risks for no definite
benefit to the baby.
When you look at the two, you can see the difference right?
Releasing a tongue tie is correcting an abnormality that interferes with
multiple areas of health across the child’s lifetime. The procedure has very
few risks and is nearly painless for the child. It is often diagnosed by a
professional and medically NECESSARY for improved breastfeeding (among other
things).
Circumcision is the removal of a healthy functioning body
part for no medical reason that risks the child’s life and can lead to lifelong
complications. It is intensely painful and traumatic and considered a cosmetic
procedure. There are NO definite benefits for the child and many possible
detriments.
These two procedures are not the same. They are not comparable
in terms of pain, reasoning, benefits/risks or medical indication. It drives me
CRAZY when a doctor will refuse to release a tongue tie but perform
circumcisions. If you want to peg the hypocrite here THAT is who you should be
talking to. But I guess the $ from the lifetime of complications related to
formula feeding and circumcision is much greater than the profit off clipping a
tongue or lip tie and the continuation of breastfeeding. I suppose we could
just chalk it up to maintaining job security and throw medical ethics out the
window…
Suggested reading:
101 Reasons to Breastfeed Your Child
http://www.notmilk.com/101.html
Breastfeeding a Baby with a Tongue Tie
http://www.breastfeed.com/breastfeeding-problems/breastfeeding-sick-baby/breastfeeding-tongue-tie
Breastfeeding a Baby with a Tongue Tie
http://www.breastfeed.com/breastfeeding-problems/breastfeeding-sick-baby/breastfeeding-tongue-tie
Introducing... the maxillary labial frenulum Thoughts on breastfeeding with an upper labial tie
Dr. Kotlow's Articles on Pediatric Dentistry
Lip-tie Q&A
Kellymom: Breastfeeding a Baby with Tongue-Tie (Resources)
DrMomma.org Are you Fully Informed? (More than you ever wanted to know on circumcision)
Thank you for posting this!
ReplyDeleteWe kept our son intact and I just 'knew' there was something wrong with his tongue... everyone told me it was 'normal' so I listened... 3 months into crying through every feeding and bleeding nipples I finally resolved that it was NOT normal.
The military doctors told me 'it would work itself out....just use formula in the mean time.' They would not give us a referral for an ENT so we paid out of pocket. His frenulum was in fact severely short and impeding his ability to nurse. The surgeon thought it so severe that he did the procedure during the consult as he said my son couldn't wait another day. My supply dwindled in that 3 months and I spent the next 7 trying to get it back while having to supplement with donor milk.
People tried to make me feel guilty for my stance on circumcision but allowing his tongue to be clipped. I stayed in the room with him during the 40 second long procedure. He cried for literally 10 seconds and then was abreast nursing amazingly for the first time ever. I knew right away that I had made the right decision for my child and was only upset that I hadn't listened to my mommy instincts sooner.
With a new addition on the way I am determined for a better nursing experience and know what to look for.
At the hospital where my youngest DD's tongue tie was clipped they compared it to circumcision. I said it wasn't the same thing at all, as my son's prepuce has not caused him to gain weight, nor did it impede his ability to nurse till he was 20 months old. Where my 6 day old baby girl had only gained 1 oz in 4 days, and she was getting frustrated throughout nursing. She gained 1 lb in the first week after her frenulectomy, and it was awesome.
ReplyDeleteMy son had a severe tongue tie at birth. He could not suck or nurse; we fed him with a tube; it was a nightmare. I had a home birth and was planning on nursing. We had it clipped at 7 days old. He cried for about 30 seconds, it hardly bled. He is intact and I feel very strongly agains circumcsion. I am thankful for the diagnosis and clipping of the tongue tie, both for his sake because he will not have speech problems, and for mine because he finally nursed at 6 weeks old and we nursed through 18 mths old. There is absolutely no comparison. It was the right thing to do and I know he'll be glad we did.
ReplyDeleteWe also have kept our son intact, we didnt know how bad his tongue tie was. It was finally dealt with at 18 months after dealing with non stop problems (teeth issues, his need for 27/7 nursing...literally, never being able to put him down at all, speech issues, etc). Nursing was immediately easier for us both and he range of movement is insane compared to before. His speech is still a slow development point. ANY future baby will be examined and any tongue tie will be dealt with as an infant to save us all from a repeat of this.
ReplyDeleteWe held off for so long because I had no idea how important it was and didnt want to force procedures on him. Not circumcising him is never going to be something I regret. That is his choice, his body, and there is nothing wrong with him. His tongue tie was another story.
Thank you!
ReplyDeleteYou won your argument with the following: Not every person has one, it’s an abnormality and there are different variations and levels of severity.
ReplyDeleteThat does not apply to a foreskin, so right there it's obvious the two are not the same. So for all you pro-cutters out there, the foreskin is NOT a an abnormality, and EVERY boy is born with one.
Interesting. There is a good genital analogy with tongue-tie and that's frenulum breve. (In fact you might call tongue-tie "lingual frenulum breve".) That's where the frenulum linking the glans to the foreskin is short, sometimes causing the penis-head to tilt down on erection like a Concorde, and possibly making retraction difficult. When it occurs, it can be treated by a little nick, frenuloplasty, and then he's good to go. Sometimes it breaks, which can be alarming if it bleeds, and then heals and all is well.
ReplyDeleteFrenulum breve is common enough in England that it has a nickname, "tight banjo-string".
When my brother was born and my mother had fought tooth-and-nail to keep him from being circumcised, they said he had tongue-tie and wanted to cut that. Since he was breastfeeding well, she refused that too. I'd say difficulty with breastfeeding is the key.
A doctor in Queensland who specialises in circumcisions was censured and fined by his medical board for doing unnecessary tongue-tie operations on boys referred to him for circumcision. Some people just like cutting babies.