Study Protocol Evaluating Breastfeeding for Mother-Infant Dyads Experiencing Infant Ankyloglossia.

Background: Tongue-tie is associated with nipple pain and early breastfeeding cessation. To date, research has been limited by small sample sizes and a dearth of evidence on the effects of tongue-tie on infant feeding symptoms and physiologic breastfeeding mechanics.

Objectives: In this article, we describe the protocol for our study exploring infant feeding, negative breastfeeding symptoms, maternal anatomy, and physiologic sucking data between infants with and without tongue-tie.

Methods: A prospective cohort study design is being employed. Over 8 weeks, three visits will be conducted with a sample of mothers and their infants without tongue-tie and a sample of mothers and their infants diagnosed with tongue-tie undergoing treatment via frenotomy. The aims of the study are to compare breastfeeding symptoms, breast anatomy, infant feeding symptoms, feeding efficiency, and nutritive sucking parameters between infants with and without tongue-tie, further comparing these metrics pre- and post-treatment via frenotomy with the non-tongue-tied age-matched counterparts.

Results: This study is currently ongoing.

Discussion: Tongue-tie is an everyday problem; clear guidelines are needed to decide whether to treat it. This novel, innovative, and multidisciplinary research study aims to fill critical gaps in understanding the physiological and functional effects of tongue-tie on breastfeeding, offering evidence to inform better clinical decisions and support effective interventions.