Is My Baby's Reflux Related to a Tongue-Tie?
Both of my babies struggled with reflux. I figured out the cause, gave them the right support, and their reflux completely resolved - no meds needed! If you're in the thick of it right now, wondering if there's more going on than "just reflux," the answer took me longer than I wish it had to get there, so I’m going to share exactly what I learned with both of my babies so you can get help as quickly as possible.
I Tried Everything and Felt Like Medication Might Be Our Only Option
With my first baby, I tried all the things for reflux:
Keeping her upright after feeds
Smaller, more frequent feeds
Lots of opportunities to burp
Probiotics
An inclined sleep surface
Homeopathy
Cutting dairy, gluten, and eggs out of my own diet
Nothing worked.
Eventually, I figured out the reflux was being caused by my baby's poor latch and swallowing too much air during feeds. And that poor latch was directly linked to a hidden tongue-tie, lip-tie, and cheek-tie that had been missed by our birth provider. It all started to make sense when I got a second opinion from a provider who specialized in infant oral function and ties.
The Mistake I Made With My First Baby
I went about it all in the wrong way with my first baby. I rushed straight into getting the ties released because I was desperate for relief and thought it would be a quick fix. It wasn’t.
A month later, when we weren't seeing any improvement, I course-corrected and did a lot of work on the backend to support her latch. It took a few weeks of oral motor exercises, professional bodywork, and at-home bodywork, but her latch improved daily, and the reflux steadily improved until it completely resolved!
Doing It Differently the Second Time
With my second baby, I did things differently from the start. We did as much prep work as we could with bodywork and oral motor exercisesbefore ever considering a release. Those things alone didn't completely resolve our issues, so we opted for a release, paired with more bodywork and oral motor exercises on the backend.
I'm so glad we did it that way the second time. I took my time and did things in the right order, even though I wished there was a quick fix. My son's reflux gradually improved as his tongue and mouth gained more strength and his latch improved.
When the Tie Wasn't the Whole Story
Even after his latch improved, my son would still have random reflux days where it would flare up. It turned out he had a sensitivity to soy. I figured that out by strategically keeping track of the foods I had eaten within the last 24 hours whenever we noticed a flare. I didn't cut out any foods until I was fairly sure it was a trigger. Once I eliminated soy, the reflux completely resolved.
So, Is Reflux Related to Tongue-Tie?
It can be… but the tie itself usually isn't the full picture. In our case, the tie affected the latch, the poor latch caused swallowing too much air, and that air is what was driving the reflux. For my son, there was an extra piece of the puzzle: a food sensitivity that only became clear once the oral function piece was resolved.
If you've tried all the things for reflux and your baby is still struggling, you don't have to opt for reflux meds. They're only a band-aid fix that mask the symptoms. What needs to happen is figuring out the trigger of the reflux, and it will resolve. The trigger could be from ties or a poor latch. It could be from a sensitivity. Or both.
Where to Go From Here
Most pediatricians aren’t trained on how to treat reflux from a root cause standpoint. A reflux specialist understands the full picture and can help you get to the root and resolve it, rather than just manage the symptoms. If you're not sure where to start, I created the free Reflux Relief Guide with free educational resources and a list of reflux specialists who can guide you.
