The researchers say babies could be operated more often than necessary to successfully breastfeed. (Photo: Getty Images)

Mothers who struggle to breastfeed undergo a heartbeat that presses.

If and when a health professional suggests that a simple tongue-tied surgical procedure can help correct the problem, mothers seem more and more eager to take it into consideration.

In fact, their number increased from 1,200 tongue and frenotomy surgeries in 1997 to more than 12,400 in 2012, according to a report. study.

Now comes research that says the procedure has become all too common.

About 63% of babies referred to a specialized center did not need the operation, report researchers in the July JAMA Journal of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery.

The small study involved 115 babies, most of whom were about one month old.

& # 39; Are all these procedures necessary?

Babies are referred to tongue surgery if tissues called the lingual brake link the tongue too closely to the floor of the mouth and the children are unable to form a seal with their mouth around their mother's nipple or bottle. (Photo: Getty Images)

Author of the Dr. study Christopher Hartnick, director of pediatric otolaryngology at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, said the study is limited but requires further investigation.

"It's amazing to see such a rise over the last decade, seeing people sent for something for which they had not been sent before," Hartnick told the Huffington Post, adding that he received about five recommendations of operations per week. "We asked ourselves, 'Is the indication correct, are all these procedures necessary?'

Surgery may be necessary for infants when the lingual brake, the tissue that connects the tongue to the floor of the mouth, is too tight, which limits the movements of the tongue.

Hartnick told Reuters that to breastfeed, an infant must "form a seal with the mouth around the mother's nipple or a bottle".

Minor surgery allows infants to breastfeed or suck.

The study points out that language-related surgery can cost between $ 850 and $ 8,000.

Harnick told The Huffington Post that for him it meant that parents could get the advice of a surgeon, but that it needed to "take a multidisciplinary look" on what was happening and include pediatricians, breastfeeding consultants, speech therapists and conversation.

READ MORE

Read or share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/parenting/2019/07/15/tongue-tied-baby-most-surgery-referrals-unnsary-study-says/1730275001/