Doctors across the US are rushing families into having their babies’ tongues partly sliced off to make breastfeeding easier, an investigation has warned.
Known as ‘tongue tie surgery’, the involves using a laser to burn off excess skin under the tongue or the webbing that connects the lips and cheeks.
It is supposed to be used on babies with a genuine defect that prevents them from feeding properly but medical professionals have become increasingly liberal with prescribing it, despite around 60 percent of infants getting better without surgery.
The rate of surgeries performed ballooned by 800 percent between 1997 and 2012 fromaround 1,280 procedures to more than 12,000, with doctors and breastfeeding consultants are raking in millions of dollars annually.
In some cases, the procedure causes severe lasting pain in infants as well as difficulty eating, resulting in malnourishment that can require them to be hooked up to feeding tubes.
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