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Lip tie campaign

Ok everyone it really is time for you to show your support and make a difference. Here is a link to the petition I have set up to try and make it standard practise to check for lip tie at birth. Please sign it and share it, we need thousand...s of signatures to make it count. http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/44390 Here is my story again if you missed it first time! I am starting a campaign to try and raise awareness of something called lip-tie. It’s a condition that lots of babies are born with (10%-15% of the population) and can potentially affect their ability to feed and, later on, cause issues with speech and teeth. It’s as it sounds, their lip is ‘tied’ to their gums by an extra bit of skin – the degree of tie can vary – sometimes it can cause no problem at all, and other times can be more serious. The reason I am doing this is because I have discovered, completely by accident, our precious Olivia has it. It is not checked for at birth and in fact health visitors and midwives don’t seem to even have heard of it. Due to her lip-tie I was forced to combination feed after three days as she wasn’t gaining enough weight. As a new mother I was really upset about it and felt like a failure that couldn’t provide for her baby. Little did I know that it wasn’t me at all. Since finding out myself and posting on forums about it, other Mums have discovered their little ones have it too, and indeed now know why there were initial issues with feeding. I want all babies to be checked for this routinely at birth so that if they have it, potential feeding issues can be explained and perhaps given guidance with. Also for anyone who has a baby in the future to be aware of its existence so they can check themselves and be aware of its potential implications. Thanks for your support- Sam K x

Replies

  • Is a lip tie the same as a tongue tie??

    A tongue tie is where the tongue is connected to the bottom of the mouth too far forward, so means tongue movement is limited.

    I know this affects their ability to feed dramatically and can even affect speech later in life but many drs do not believe anything should be done about it. I work on a children's surgical ward at Southampton and we have one of the only surgeons in the country willing to correct this and allow babies to feed normally. We have people from wales, Birmingham and further coming and it has shown me what a big problem this is, and definitely think it should be checked at birth!

    I have signed your petition regardless as they both sound similar and affect these poor little babies and new mummies in the same way! xx

  • Hi,

    Lip tie is different but often babies have both, lip tie is when the top lip is 'tied' to the gums by an extra bit of skin so they cant curl it out to feed/speak properly. It also causes a gap in their teeth. The only place I can see to get it fixed is in Manchester or huddersfield and thats privately.

    Thanks for signing.

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