Controversy Over Tongue-Tie: Divisions in the Community of Healthcare Professionals

Abstract

While recent decades have seen a rapid rise in cases of infant tongue-tie and in surgery to correct it, a controversy is now raging over the condition. Opinion is especially divided over so-called posterior tongue-tie, a variant which is detected based on the "feel" of the sub-lingual space. Drawing on ethnographic research with clinicians in England, we clarify the professional and personal commitments involved in the controversy. Our analysis is informed by Douglas' theory of cultural representations (grid-group theory), in which ideas of what is natural and unnatural constitute central metaphors.

Keywords: England; breastfeeding; frenotomy; grid-group theory; healthcare professionals; tongue-tie.