Mothers call for better training after they had to go south for treatment
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
TWO Highland mothers who were forced to drive their babies to Huddersfield for private tongue-tie treatment are calling for better treatment closer to home.
Both of their babies suffered from the condition – they spent months in pain and struggled to feed properly even after receiving treatment at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness.
Untreated tongue-ties may not always cause issues as babies grow but they can cause problems such as speech difficulties and difficulty eating certain foods.
Christine Mackenzie (34), from Portmahomack, and Golspie mother Claire MacLennan (29) were both told repeatedly that there was nothing wrong with their babies and that what they were experiencing was typical for first time mothers.
"We were up half the night feeding and I was exhausted – my daughter lost so much weight. People are very trusting that their health professionals will diagnose these things but they can’t if they are not trained to," Mrs Mackenzie said.
"They need to have the right training to recognise it and deal with it.
"I used to have to massage Isla’s belly every two hours to help the wind through. We spent hours walking the floor holding her and I was surviving on one hour of sleep a night, if I was lucky."
When Ms MacLennan’s baby was seven months and Mrs Mackenzie’s was nine months they committed to an eight hour journey to Huddersfield in England to the Milk Matters centre where they spent £200 to have their babies’ tongues snipped further. The treatment is less stressful to younger babies and easier to do because they move less. They had heard of the centre on a Highland breastfeeding forum.
Ms MacLennan’s baby Isla and Mrs Mackenzie’s baby Ruth had both had their tongue’s snipped in Raigmore by midwives after an initial issue but the problems continued. It was revealed later that the babies’ tongues were not cut far back enough.
"They cut away what they could see but it wasn’t enough. We have had months of feeding issues and poor weight gain," Mrs Mackenzie said.
Tongue tie can be anterior or posterior to the tongue meaning that it is harder to identify or treat.
"I consulted the health visitor who told me again that she was not tongue tied," Ms MacLennan said. "I was given a questionnaire on postnatal depression and advised to go to the doctor. I was not depressed – I was sleep deprived dealing with a child in pain. I knew there was something wrong. At 14.5 weeks Isla was finally diagnosed with tongue tie and had it snipped."
Isla’s situation "improved marginally" but it was not until her tongue was cut further in Huddersfield that things really improved. Ruth had a similar experience and, after having the further procedure, could make sounds with her tongue.
Some NHS staff reportedly checked for tongue ties without opening their mouths.
Ms MacLennan said: "It’s just making sure that, if people within the NHS have no formal training on tongue tie, then they really shouldn’t pass comment and should refer to someone experienced in diagnosing. There seems to be inconsistencies between whether it is ear, nose and throat or the paediatricians who deal with it, and some areas it is midwives."
Neither mother said they wanted to blame staff but hoped going public would lead to improved training.
A spokesman for NHS Highland said: "The service for treating babies with tongue tie sits within Raigmore maternity. We are working to further develop the service and clinics are running as normal. The treatment is carried out by trained specialist midwives using guidelines that abide with national recommendations."
An email sent to Mrs Mackenzie after her complaint revealed that training which covers tongue-tie had not yet been delivered for the year due to staffing issues.
