Tongue-tie surgeries: Warning as procedures on newborns triple

Many Kiwi parents have the thin attachment under the tongues of new babies cut, hoping it will help with breastfeeding, but no one knows how many. Photo / 3pix Studio Associato di Garelli, Maccolini e Piana

Many Kiwi parents have the thin attachment under the tongues of new babies cut, hoping it will help with breastfeeding, but no one knows how many. Photo / 3pix Studio Associato di Garelli, Maccolini e Piana

Tongue-tie surgery can help a baby’s breastfeeding – or can be risky and unnecessary. Occasionally, newborns have been injured. No agency collects a full set of data but what the Government does gather suggests surgery numbers have tripled in 20 years. Hannah Brown examines what’s driving the spike.