Can a baby with a cleft lip and palate breastfeed?
Babies with a cleft lip, but no cleft palate, can usually breastfeed. With a cleft palate, poor suction can make it very difficult. You can pump your breast milk and feed your baby with a special bottle provided by a feeding specialist or speech therapist.
Which position is preferred for breastfeeding with cleft palate?
For your baby with cleft palate, try these tips: Try positions that are comfortable for you and that let your baby stay upright or semi-upright during feedings. For example, try having your baby straddle your leg on the same side as the breast he’s nursing from. You can also try a modified football hold.
Does cleft palate affect feeding?
A cleft is an opening or split in the palate. This cleft can make feeding hard for your baby. Most babies with a cleft of the palate are not able to use standard bottles or solely breast feed because they cannot create the suction needed to draw the milk out of the nipple.
How common is a submucous cleft palate?
A submucous cleft palate (SMCP) results from a lack of normal fusion of the muscles within the soft palate as the baby is developing in utero. It occurs in about 1 in 1,200 children.
What is Logan bow?
The Logan Bow is an external device comprising a curved bow-shaped metal bar, with spikes attached to its cross bars, and is widely used as part of a cleft lip management to maintain postoperative apposition and to avoid excessive strain after cheiloplasty for a cleft lip.
How do babies eat after cleft palate surgery?
Drinking and Eating
- Give soft, pureed or mashed foods for 3 weeks.
- Do not give foods that have chunks, lumps or pieces, such as seeds, grains, pulp or skin.
- Do not give hard, crunchy foods such as cold cereal, cookies, crackers or chips.
- Use only a spoon for feeding.
- Do not let your child feed themself.
What does a submucous cleft feel like?
A submucous cleft of the hard palate is defined as a bony defect in the midline or center of the bony palate. This can sometimes be felt as a notch or depression in the hard palate. Often a submucous cleft palate is associated with a cleft (or “bifid”) uvula.
What are the signs of a submucous cleft?
Clinically, the cardinal signs of a submucous cleft palate are a bifid uvula, a V-shaped notch at the back of the hard palate, a translucent line in the mid-line of the soft palate and a short palate.
What is Stickler syndrome?
Stickler syndrome is a genetic disorder that can cause serious vision, hearing and joint problems. Also known as hereditary progressive arthro-ophthalmopathy, Stickler syndrome is usually diagnosed during infancy or childhood.
What is Palatoplasty surgery?
A palatoplasty is a surgical procedure used to correct or reconstruct the PALATE in a person with a CLEFT PALATE. The basic goals of this surgery are to: Close the abnormal opening between the nose and mouth.
When does a baby have a submucosal cleft palate?
A submucosal cleft palate (SMCP) results from a lack of normal fusion of the muscles within the soft palate as the baby is developing in utero. It occurs in about 1 in 1,200 children.
Breastfeeding an infant with both a cleft lip and palate appears to be more elusive, although one medical study in Thailand 9 recounts success with exclusive breastfeeding. Hopefully, more studies will be forthcoming.
Do you need surgery for a submucous cleft palate?
Surgical repair needed, speech therapy needed. A submucous cleft palate that doesn’t affect a child’s speech usually is watched carefully by the care team to make sure it doesn’t cause problems as the child grows. Kids who have more serious symptoms (like hypernasality or nasal air emissions) usually will have their palate corrected with surgery.
Why is my baby not breastfeeding after palate surgery?
The baby may be reluctant to feed at all either at the breast, via bottle, or spoon-fed solids as the palate surgery involves the incisioning and redirection of the palatal muscles. A decrease in milk production may occur due to fatigue and stress post-surgery. Transitioning to the breast 20 requires extra time and effort.