BACKGROUND:
Ankyloglossia or tongue-tie is a congenital condition where there is an imbalance in floor-of-mouth fascial roles so that their provision of tongue stability impacts tongue mobility, resulting in a clinically significant functional disorder. Ankyloglossia can contribute to a range of functional difficulties, such as the ability to breastfeed.

OBJECTIVES:
The study objective was to engage Aotearoa New Zealand’s health professionals in a dialogue about tongue-tie, describe their opinions and practices, and identify what shapes their knowledge of this congenital condition.

METHODS:
Using dialectical pluralism as the philosophical standpoint, I conducted a mixed research study to investigate my research question. The design of this study is novel in the health and social science disciplines. It is an ‘explanatory concurrent’ mixed research study where all the data is collected via a single survey instrument containing both Likert scale and open-ended questions. The study is mixed in its analysis and inference stages.

RESULTS:
This study generates knowledge about what shapes the attitudes and beliefs of the many health professionals involved in caring for families where the breastfeeding experience is compromised by neonatal tongue-tie. This presentation will focus on presenting the quantitative results of the study.

CONCLUSIONS:
Treatment for problematic neonatal tongue-tie should be provided within a multidisciplinary team approach by skilled and appropriate health professionals.

KEY MESSAGE:
Midwives should maintain their knowledge about breastfeeding and continuously upskill to be able to provide the dyad with the best possible support, advice about good fit and hold, and problem solving. Poster session 1 (Group A)