Pinter & Martin Why It Matters

For parents of babies with feeding difficulties, the journey to a diagnosis of tongue-tie and the challenges involved in accessing treatment can be long and arduous. Information is often conflicting, and professionals do not always agree. Why Tongue-tie Matters aims to steer a course through research and practice to explain how tongue-tie impacts feeding, when you should suspect tongue-tie, and how to access assessment and treatment.

Many babies are fussy and spit up milk, and in recent years, it has become common for them to be diagnosed with reflux and medicated with antacids, thickeners, and acid suppressants. However, research tells us that reflux is normal in young babies and that many of the symptoms associated with it may in fact be misunderstood baby behaviors rather than clinical symptoms of gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GORD).

Nearly all babies in the UK receive formula milk at some point during their first year of life. Yet finding independent and factual information about formula feeding can be surprisingly difficult, as much of the material available to parents, carers, and health professionals is generated by the formula industry for marketing purposes. How can parents make properly informed decisions about which brand to choose, how much to feed and when, and how to prepare products safely? Infant feeding specialist Shel Banks tackles all these questions and many more.

Many parents plan to introduce a bottle early in their child’s life, whether they’re going to use formula or expressed breastmilk. Many more find themselves going down this pathway even though they hadn’t planned to. It can be difficult to find useful information to navigate the journey of mixed feeding, balancing giving formula alongside maintaining the production of breastmilk, and parents often feel unprepared and unsupported with this decision.