Melanie, owner of Baby Bonds, and her exclusive dental partner, Dr. Sam Zink, were included on a…read morelist of recommended lactation consultants provided to us by St. Alphonsus after delivery. Because my son was not latching, we made an immediate appointment to see Melanie the day we were discharged from the hospital. We were exhausted, overwhelmed first time parents with a two-day old baby who was struggling to eat. We were worried our baby might have a tongue tie. I have a pretty severe tongue tie myself, so I had been worried this could be an issue for him. However, none of the doctors or lactation consultants at the hospital could see a tongue tie.
Melanie was our second opinion. She took our two-day old baby and moved his body through some "maneuvers." In no more than 60 seconds, Melanie proclaimed he had a severe tongue tie. In addition to the lactation package she wanted to sell us, she recommended we immediately schedule a tongue-tied release procedure (frenectomy) with her "exclusive" partner, Dr. Zink. For an extra fee, Melanie would assist with the procedure. We were in luck, we were told, they could get us in that week!
Although insurance covered none of this, we made the appointment because it felt urgent and important. Time was of the essence to get my baby to latch. But after sleeping on it, we realized we both had a bad taste in our mouths from our appointment with Melanie. It felt extremely "scammy" to us, so we cancelled the procedure in order to carefully consider our options. But after meeting with two other lactation consultants, a pediatrician, and a pediatric physical therapist, nobody else could tell us with any certainty that our son was tongue tied.
We will never know if our baby could have benefitted from a frenectomy because we decided against it. However, looking back, our experience with Melanie honestly felt predatory. It is easy to see why so many exhausted, scared parents are agreeing to this invasive and painful procedure based on the high-pressure sales pitch they are getting from her. And of course, she and her dental partner must be profiting enormously from their symbiotic financial arrangement, which to us feels extremely unethical.
I've thought about this experience many times in the nearly two years since it occurred, but I honestly felt too intimidated to say anything. A frenectomy is not always the right decision for every family. It is not an emergency regardless of how you are made to feel. Don't be afraid to trust your gut. Don't be afraid to get a second opinion.