The effects of lingual frenotomy on breastfeeding: an integrative review

ABSTRACT Purpose: to investigate what effects lingual frenotomy has on breastfeeding. Methods: based on the research question - “Is there a relationship between the improvement in breastfeeding and the lingual frenotomy?” -, a bibliographical survey was carried out in three databases, using the following descriptors: ankyloglossia, lingual frenum, breastfeeding and frenotomy. Frenotomy is a free term. Original articles with babies up to 6 months old who had difficulties breastfeeding due to ankyloglossia and who had been submitted to lingual frenotomy were chosen. An instrument was developed, containing the following information: name of the authors, year of publication, country of origin, the objective of the study, type of study, sample, main results, and conclusion. Literature Review: of the 243 articles screened, four met the inclusion criteria for this study. It was observed that, after lingual frenotomy, some changes may take place in breastfeeding patterns, such as an increase in the number of suctions and a decrease in the time of pause in between series of suctions. Conclusion: the lingual frenotomy can be an important procedure in the treatment of babies with ankyloglossia, possibly helping improve the latch and breastfeeding.