TOPLINE:

Infants with untreated tongue-tie (ankyloglossia) did not have significantly different rates of exclusive breastfeeding or weight gain at age 6 months than infants without the condition. Maternal concern about insufficient milk supply was associated with lower odds of exclusive breastfeeding at 6 months.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers conducted a study at an urban tertiary care hospital in Hyderabad, India, that evaluated mother-infant pairs recruited within 48 hours after birth.
• The analysis included 476 mother-child pairs, with 366 (76.9%) infants who did not have tongue-tie and 110 (23.1%) who were in the tongue-tie group.
• Researchers examined exclusive breastfeeding between groups with follow-ups at 2-4 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months, with follow-up rates of 51.5%, 64.3%, and 70%, respectively.
• Qualitative interviews were conducted with 36 mothers (18 from each group) to identify reasons contributing to early cessation of exclusive breastfeeding.

TAKEAWAY:

• Researchers saw no significant difference in exclusive breastfeeding rates at 6 months between no tongue-tie (81.4%) and tongue-tie (78.6%) groups (95% CI, -7.9% to 13.5%; P = .6).
• Maternal concern regarding milk supply was associated with lower odds of exclusive breastfeeding at 6 months (odds ratio [OR], 0.22; P = .003).
• The rate at which each infant gained weight showed no significant differences between groups at 3 months or 6 months.
• An assessment tool that measures the severity of tongue-tie revealed no significant difference between exclusively breastfed and nonexclusively breastfed infants at 6 months (mean difference, -0.61; 95% CI, -0.62 to 0.5; P = .78).

IN PRACTICE:

“In this study, we found that ankyloglossia was not a primary factor in maintenance of breastfeeding or in infant growth velocity for our study population,” the study authors wrote. “These findings suggest that when caring for mother-infant dyads with breastfeeding difficulties, a multitude of potential causes should be explored, regardless of the presence or absence of ankyloglossia.”

SOURCE:

The study was led by Nikhila Raol, MD, MPH, Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston. It was published online in Pediatrics.

LIMITATIONS:

The tongue-tie assessment tool used in the study was not validated, and most infants did not have severe tongue-tie. Some follow-up data were missing, and reports from each mother may not have been accurate.

DISCLOSURES:

The authors reported having no relevant financial disclosures.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.