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| Inside the Booming Business of Cutting Babies’ Tongues | Inside the Booming Business of Cutting Babies’ Tongues |
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| Tess Merrell had breastfed three babies and never expected trouble with her fourth. But after a month of struggling with her newborn, she hired Melanie Henstrom for help. | Tess Merrell had breastfed three babies and never expected trouble with her fourth. But after a month of struggling with her newborn, she hired Melanie Henstrom for help. |
| Ms. Henstrom, a lactation consultant, identified a culprit: The infant’s tongue was tethered to the bottom of her mouth. It was a common problem, she said, and could be fixed with a quick procedure at a dentist’s office. | Ms. Henstrom, a lactation consultant, identified a culprit: The infant’s tongue was tethered to the bottom of her mouth. It was a common problem, she said, and could be fixed with a quick procedure at a dentist’s office. |
| “It was touted as this miracle cure,” said Ms. Merrell, a high school soccer coach in Boise, Idaho. | “It was touted as this miracle cure,” said Ms. Merrell, a high school soccer coach in Boise, Idaho. |
| Ms. Henstrom recommended a dentist, who in December 2017 cut under the baby’s tongue with a laser. Within days, the infant, Eleanor, was refusing to eat and had become dangerously dehydrated, medical records show. She spent her first Christmas on a feeding tube. | Ms. Henstrom recommended a dentist, who in December 2017 cut under the baby’s tongue with a laser. Within days, the infant, Eleanor, was refusing to eat and had become dangerously dehydrated, medical records show. She spent her first Christmas on a feeding tube. |
| For centuries, midwives and doctors have been cutting such “tongue-ties” to ease breastfeeding. But the procedure’s popularity has exploded over the past decade as women face intensifying pressure to nurse. | For centuries, midwives and doctors have been cutting such “tongue-ties” to ease breastfeeding. But the procedure’s popularity has exploded over the past decade as women face intensifying pressure to nurse. |
| Lactation consultants and dentists have aggressively promoted the procedures, even for babies with no signs of genuine tongue-ties and despite a slight risk of serious complications, a New York Times investigation found. | |
| A small fraction of babies are born with a bundle of tissue that attaches the tip of their tongue to the bottom of their mouth. In some pronounced cases, doctors snip that tissue. But many tongue-ties are harmless, and the evidence that cutting them improves feeding is scant. |