Impact of Neonatal Frenotomy on the Breastfeeding Rate at Discharge from the Maternity Ward: A Prospective, Cohort Study

Abstract

Background Ankyloglossia may lead to an early abandonment of breastfeeding. Performing a frenotomy could increase the breastfeeding rate at discharge from the maternity ward. Methods This prospective cohort study included all the neonates born in our center in 2018 (1392). We offered a frenotomy to all tongue-tied patients. We determined how many frenotomies we performed (422), whether breastfeeding improved in the short term, and compared the breastfeeding rates between treated and untreated tongue-tied and non-tongue-tied neonates. Quantitative variables were described using the mean and standard deviation, and compared using a Student’s t-test. Rates of breastfeeding were compared using the Pearson chi square. Significance was set at the p < 0.05 level. Results The breastfeeding rate at discharge was higher among tongue-tied infants (92.1%) than non-tongue-tied (84.2%), and higher among treated than untreated neonates (93.1 vs 75.9%, respectively). Conclusions Frenotomy could help increase the breastfeeding rate at discharge among tongue-tied neonates. Trial registration: Not applicable