The cleft palate occurs when the baby is born with the roof of the mouth open, forming a cleft there. Most of the time, the cleft palate is accompanied by the cleft lip, which corresponds to the opening of the lips, which can reach the nose.
These changes in the face can cause complications for the baby, including feeding, that can lead to malnutrition, anemia, aspiration pneumonia, and even frequent infections. For these reasons, every baby born with a cleft palate or cleft lip should have surgery to reconstruct the tissues of the mouth, even during the first year of life.
- Surgery can close the lip and palate.
- And the baby fully recovers within a few weeks of the operation.
- Without complications in the growth and feeding of the teeth.
Cleft lip and palate are caused by a fetal malformation that occurs when both sides of the face are found, around 16 weeks gestation. Its causes are not properly known, but it is known that there is an increased risk when the mother does not perform prenatal care properly or when:
However, a healthy woman who has done prenatal care correctly can also have a baby with such cracks in her face and that’s why her causes are not fully known.
When your doctor verifies that your baby has cleft lip and palate, he or she may look for patau syndrome, because in half of cases they have this type of change in the face. Your doctor will also examine the functioning of your heart, as it can also be altered, as well as the ear, which is more likely to accumulate secretions, increasing the risk of ear infection.
Your doctor may diagnose that your baby has cleft lip and/or palate by morphological ultrasound in the second trimester of pregnancy, starting at week 14, also by 3D ultrasound or at birth.
After birth, the child must be accompanied by a pediatrician, an otolaryngologist and a dentist as the cleft palate may compromise the birth of the teeth and cleft lip usually interfere with breastfeeding, although the baby may take the bottle.
Cleft lip treatment is done by plastic surgery that can be performed when the baby is 3 months old or after this period at any stage of life. In case of cleft palate, surgery is not indicated until after 1 year.
Surgery is quick and relatively simple and can yield excellent results. In order for the plastic surgeon to perform surgery, the baby must be more than 3 months old and not have anemia, in addition to being healthy. Understand how surgery and care is done after the procedure.
Breastfeeding is always recommended because it is an important link between the mother and the child and although it is difficult to breastfeed, since the vacuum is not formed and therefore the baby cannot suck the milk, it is important to offer the breast for about 15 minutes in each breast. , before giving the bottle.
To facilitate milk flow, the mother should hold the chest by pressing behind the areola so that the milk can come out with less suction. The best position to breastfeed this baby is standing or slightly inclined, avoiding leaving the baby completely lying on his or her arm or in bed to breastfeed as this increases the risk of suffocation.
If the mother cannot breastfeed the baby, the mother can remove the milk with a manual extractor and then give it to the baby in a bottle or cup because this milk has many more benefits for the baby than the formula, as there is less risk. ear infection and difficulty speaking.
The bottle does not have to be special since there is no specific one for this type of health problem, but it is more advisable to opt for the rounded nipple, which looks more like inside the mother, because the adjustment of the mouth is better. but another option is to offer the milk in the cup.
Before surgery, parents should take certain important precautions, such as:
In addition, it is important to keep the baby’s nose clean at all times, using a cotton swab soaked in a saline solution to remove dirt and secretions at least once a day.