Why these mothers say they felt pressured into getting their “tongue-tied” newborns operated on with a laser.
For some new moms, nothing can be more stressful than getting their infant to start nursing. Many anxious moms hire lactation consultants, especially if their baby has something called a "tongue tie."
According to a new study published by the American Academy of Pediatrics, between 1.7% to 10.7% of all newborns are born "tongue-tied," which is when the infant's tongue is tethered to the bottom of their mouth. It can make it harder for the infant to latch on and swallow during breastfeeding.
It can often be fixed with a quick procedure called a "Tongue Tie Release," performed by a dentist or medical doctor using a scissor or small laser that cuts out the tissue under the tongue.
Cutting babies' tongues has turned into a booming business. Some procedures cost more than $1,000.
The results can be effective, however, many experts say the tongue-tie procedures may be being used on too many babies who do not need them.
Aubrey Nobili and fellow mother Tess Merrell say they became alarmed when each of their babies first struggled to gain weight.
"I was so concerned about Vivi's loss, with her weight that I was just desperate," Nobili tells Inside Edition.
"I was growing to a desperate point where occasionally she would skip a feed," Merrell says of her daughter, Eleanor.
Nobili and Merrell both turned to Melanie Henstrom, a lactation consultant.
"I told Melanie what was going on and she told me that tongue-tie releases will fix these issues every time," Merrell says.
The mothers claim Henstrom, who is not a medical doctor or nurse, pressured them into getting tongue-tie procedures, referring them to dentists who laser-cut their infants' tongue-tie.
"It was like a fear-based approached honestly. She had told us that we were going to have all of these problems. That Vivi was never going to be able to successfully eat or feed," Nobili says. "I personally felt she bullied us 100%."
Nobili's daughter Vivi was three weeks old at the time.
"Melanie pulls out a sound machine and she turns it on and she says, 'You don't want to hear this,'" Nobili says. "I handed my baby over and I just started sobbing because I felt like I made the biggest mistake of my life. I will never forget the smell of the burnt flesh from her mouth as she was crying."
After the procedure, both moms say things got worse.
"We had been exclusively nursing up to that point. She had never had a bottle or been fed any other way and now I was being utterly rejected," Merrell says. "She became a baby who would rather die than eat. We were sent to the hospital because she hadn't eaten in over 12 hours at that point and at the hospital is when they said she was dehydrated and they placed her on a feeding tube and she spent her first Christmas on a feeding tube."
Merrell says her daughter would never exclusively breastfeed again.
Pediatric physical therapist Kathy Strickland helped treat Vivi after the procedure.
"I want there to be oversight for how people proceed with tongue-tie releases. I want there to be accountability," Strickland says. "Parents have been persuaded to go this route because they thought that was the only route to go."
Merrell agrees.
"I also think that there should be more oversight on who can perform the procedures, who can diagnose tongue-tie. Right now there is no industry standard," Merrell says. "I think also that informed consent is important and as a part of informed consent people should know what can go wrong."
Aubrey and Ryan Nobili say they are still experiencing the fallout from Vivi's tongue-tie release.
"It has absolutely changed the entire course of our lives. Vivi still doesn't eat solid foods and she's 14 months old," Aubrey says.
Dr. Jenny Thomas, lead author of a report on the topic of tongue ties that was recently released by the American Academy of Pediatrics, spoke with Inside Edition.
"The tongue-tie surgery is beneficial for some patients absolutely, but it is not always the answer," Thomas says.
According to the report, there is little evidence to support the use of “tongue-tie releases” for most babies. The report says that the procedure, which can often cost several hundred dollars, should be done only to the small portion of babies with severely tethered tongues.
Dr. Richard Rosenfeld is one of the top pediatric ear, nose, and throat doctors in the country.
"It's the type of thing that if you do it, in the right child for the right reason at the right time in the right way, you can change the life of the baby and the mother," Rosenfeld says. "The problem is, when it's done in the wrong child for the wrong reason, the wrong reason can sometimes be profit-driven."
Henstrom did not respond to Inside Edition's request for comment. She recently closed her lactation consulting business, writing in a post that despite positive feedback, a few unhappy individuals have voiced their discontent loudly and tarnished her reputation.
