Breastfeeding Mechanics: The Foundation for Understanding and Misunderstanding of Ankyloglossia

Over the last 15 years, there has been increasing attention placed on the role of ankyloglossia in breastfeeding and bottlefeeding pathology. With that increased focus comes increased scrutiny both in the published research and in the daily interactions between the medical team and parents. While the majority of published studies demonstrate improvement in symptoms following lingual frenotomy, parents still have to overcome hurdles of missed or delayed diagnosis, pressure to not pursue a frenotomy, or poor understanding and performance by the medical team who are helping with surgical release. This lecture aims to explain the physiological and pathophysiological movements of the tongue during breastfeeding and bottlefeeding to give practitioners the basis to improving diagnostic and therapeutic skills, in addition to improving their ability to critique and participate in the research process needed for examining outcomes.