The idea that frenulotomy (cutting through the baby’s frenulum, the tissue connecting the underside of the tongue to the floor of the mouth) is a panacea for problems with breastfeeding is wrong (Letters, 6 October). There are degrees of tongue-tie, and while undoubtedly an occasional mother/baby pair does benefit if the baby is subjected to this procedure, many babies with a considerable degree of tongue-tie feed satisfactorily, while many babies who are not tongue-tied end up failing to breastfeed.
Peter Ehrhardt
Consultant paediatrician, Todmorden, West Yorkshire
• Perhaps we all mistook the chancellor’s speech. That “not everyone can do exactly the same job that they were doing at the beginning of this crisis” could just be a not-so-thinly-veiled reference to a possible scramble for leadership.
Austen Lynch
Garstang, Lancashire
• Apparently Boris Johnson “considers the matter closed” (Couple who allege Cummings made second lockdown trip accuse police of bias, 7 October). For those required to follow restrictions the matter is anything but closed while Dominic Cummings remains in post.
Ros Earthy
Cockermouth, Cumbria
• I remember in the early 1960s when we were asked where we were going on our summer holidays (Letters, 9 October), the usual reply was: “We’re going to Rome … roam around Yorkshire.”
John Petrie
Horsforth, Leeds
• When we asked as kids where we were going on our holidays, our mum would answer Ardstone Edge. “Where’s that?” “Sit on the doorstep and think about it” was her reply.
Mick McKeown
Windermere, Cumbria
