The tongue and mouth have many functions. It’s not just about breastfeeding or bottle-feeding. If we are only looking at that, we are missing the bigger picture.
There are FOUR areas of function we assess.
SLEEPING, BREATHING, FEEDING, AND FUNCTIONAL MOVEMENT OF THE WHOLE BODY.
Sleeping & Breathing
Sleep disorders in children and adolescents are common; even infants may have sleep disorders. Studies have shown that poor sleep quality and/or quantity in children is associated with a host of problems, including academic, behavioral, developmental and social difficulties, weight abnormalities, and other health problems. Children may suffer from problems with falling or staying asleep; from physiological problems such as obstructive sleep apnea, to abnormal or disruptive sleep behaviors such as sleepwalking and other parasomnias such as restless legs syndrome, and even daytime symptoms such as excessive sleepiness, and others.
Nose breathing is crucial for health and good mouth development. The baby’s tongue should rest properly within the baby’s mouth to help maintain the palate’s shape. Nose breathing efficiently oxygenates the blood needed for all life processes. This will influence the baby’s ability to coordinate the suck-swallow-breathe sequence for feeding. Mouth breathing may lead to characteristics such as a narrow face, high narrow palate [which impinges on the nasal and sinus areas], frequent upper respiratory illness, low forward tongue resting position, tongue thrust swallow, and dental malocclusion.
If your baby is mouth breathing, always congested, snoring, a loud breather, or has his tongue out of his mouth, and you’re being told it’s normal or no big deal, please reach out to us for a second opinion. These issues do not resolve on their own and can exacerbate overtime.
Feeding
A new born that is breastfeeding or bottle-feeding, should be able to maintain a wide latch in order to utilize the whole tongue for suck-swallow-breathe coordination. If she is unable to do so, she may compensate by using the jaw to bite down. Other symptoms of feeding dysfunction may include:
Poor latch/inability to latch
Sliding off the nipple
Fatigue/sleepy during feeds
Poor weight gain or still hungry after 20-minute sucking period on the breast
Clicking during a feed
Open mouth posture at rest and during movement
Maternal nipple pain/damage (can feel like the infant is compressing, chewing, gumming, pinching, scraping the nipple, plugged ducts, mastitis)
Increased maternal nipple/breast infections, compromised maternal milk supply
Gastrointestinal issues (gassiness, reflux, pooping issues (too much or too little)
Aerophasia (air swallowing which can cause a lot of gas and spitting up)
The end of the tongue may be heart shaped
Two toned lips or blisters
Poor coordination of suck-swallow-breathe
White coated tongue (microbiome development on surface of tongue)
A high arched palate
Hypersensitive gag reflex
Low tongue posture which may contribute to sleep disordered breathing and sleep apnea, snoring, mouth breathing
Possible open mouth posture associated with an imbalance in skeletal structure,
When baby cries the tongue may lay flat in the bottom of the mouth (baby’s tongue should elevate when they are crying)
Movement
Babies with feeding issues might have difficulty with functional and transitional movements of tummy time. However, movement and mobility are very helpful and imperative for optimizing efficient feeding and tongue/throat mobility. Babies with feeding issues tend to be very challenged and uncomfortable in tummy time as a result of tension, which can inhibit movement. All aspects of tummy time play [on their back, sides, and tummy] are a great whole-body approach to oral function.
Babies that are limited in their functional movements, tend to develop a turning preference, flat spots, tense shoulders, fisted fingers, and clenched toes, to name a few. If your baby is awake, engage with them and move them around. Containment such as bouncers, chairs, carseats, carriers, strollers, and cribs limit a baby’s ability to move, and integrate reflexes.
