The Untied Latch works within a 3-step framework to ensure every client receives exceptional support with their baby’s tongue tie.
The first step is Assessment.
Most health care practitioners will likely tell you that they assessed your baby for a tongue tie by looking to see if they can stick out their tongue. If your HCP did this, your baby did not receive a thorough tongue tie assessment and their results were not accurate.
Our Tongue Tie assessment includes:
Structural Assessment
Babies who have tongue ties typically have tension in their body. We often see this tension in their hips, shoulders, neck, jaw, and oral structure. Our team is trained to assess your baby’s body and will pinpoint your baby’s points of tension in their body. Knowing where your baby’s tension lies allows us to understand why your baby has difficulty with specific breastfeeding positions. We can use this information to ensure you’re using breastfeeding positions that are the most comfortable for your baby.
Feeding Assessment
Our team is able to observe both breastfeeding and bottle feeding, understand their feeding mechanics, and describe them to parents. We are able to translate what infants are doing at the breast and/or bottle to how it is being affected by a tongue tie. With this information, we can help parents make adjustments to the way they are feeding their infants.
Oral Assessment
While most Health Care Practitioners won’t even put their fingers near an infant’s mouth to assess for a tongue tie, our team is trained to assess tongue function by using our fingers to test the tongue in multiple ways. Using gloved hands, we explore your infant’s mouth, feeling your baby’s cheeks, palate, under the tongue, and lips. You cannot truly understand what an infant’s tongue function is unless you physically test it. The information we gather in this assessment allows us to discuss with parents how their infant’s tongue is functioning, why they are experiencing specific symptoms (both mom and baby), and what steps they can take to remedy the issues.