Information For Parents
Is Your Baby Having Trouble Nursing?
- Perhaps baby is having difficulty latching, is leaking milk out of his/her mouth while nursing, or has to frequently stop nursing because of coughing and gagging.
- Instead of nursing being a loving bonding experience with your baby, are you dreading feeding time because of flattened nipples, bleeding, breast swelling, clogged ducts, or bruising?
- Tongue and lip tie can also cause airway and breathing problems for children, as well as chewing issues and lisps in speech as they get older.
What to Expect During and After Laser Frenectomy
A common practice, done for hundreds of years, a frenectomy was originally performed with scissors, and often required a local anesthetic and at least one suture.
Today, with the advance of safe, effective laser technology, there is no need for anesthetic, no sutures, and no bleeding. The procedure is usually over in less than a minute.Â
— Is a Frenectomy Painful?
There should be very little discomfort from laser frenectomy, and breastfeeding and skin-to-skin contact provide the best pain relief.
If you think your child might need an analgesic check with the doctor before leaving for recommendations and dosage.
— What happens after Frenectomy Surgery?
It will be important to do some basics exercises with your baby, as soon as possible after the frenectomy.
Usually after the second feeding, you should start the exercises recommended by the doctor.
Your lactation consultant may be able to help you with exercises too. These exercises are intended to keep the frenum from reattaching, and to help your baby to learn to use the tongue properly.
Please note that it will take some time for your baby to learn to what to do with the new mobility of his/her tongue.