Tongue-tie - NHS

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Symptoms of tongue-tie

A baby's open mouth. The tongue is slightly lifted and there's a short bit of skin connecting it to the bottom of the mouth. Credit:

SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY https://www.sciencephoto.com/media/266498/view

If you or your child have tongue-tie, the piece of skin connecting the tongue to the bottom of the mouth usually looks shorter or tighter than usual.

The tongue may also look heart-shaped when it's lifted or stuck out.

Tongue-tie may not cause any problems, but it can make it difficult to move the tongue. For example, you may not be able to move your tongue from side-to-side, lift it up or stick it out.

In babies, tongue-tie can make it difficult for them to breastfeed or bottle-feed. They may:

  • have difficulty attaching (latching) or staying attached to the breast or bottle teat
  • feed for a long time and need to be fed very often
  • dribble a lot during feeds
  • cough, choke or make clicking noises when feeding
  • only take a small amount of milk at each feed
  • lose weight or struggle to put on weight

If your baby has tongue-tie and you're breastfeeding, you may have sore nipples or painful and swollen breasts.

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