‘Mrs Rodowick Im afraid to tell you this but your son has a cleft lip’, those words will be forever burned in my mind. June 28th had started as a day of great anticipation awaiting the time when I would give birth to my very first child and ended with the birth of a beautiful baby boy and a million questions.
After learning this shocking fact and dealing with a high range of emotions I set myself on a mission to find out everything I could possibly find out about cleft lip and wanted to share what I have learned as well as a few interesting facts.
Cleft lip occurs in about 1 in 700 births, is the fourth most common birth defect, the first most common facial birth defect and, most importantly, a repairable birth defect. However armed with these facts most parents feel totally alone.
Cleft lip is caused when the lips do not join together early in pregnancy usually in the first 7-9 weeks gestation. Its cause is not known and can be guesstimated to many factors including genetics, smoking, certain medications, as well as enviromental factors. Many experts agree it is something the mother has no control over and should try not to dwell on the causes nor place blame on herself.
When it comes to feeding a baby with a cleft lip it can be a frustrating and daunting task at first, most babies can be breast or bottle fed with no problems however sometimes some tweaking may need to be done like using cross cut nipples or a bottle with a nipple with a slit that allows the baby to control the flow of the milk. If you are having difficulties in feeding your baby it is important to contact your doctor who will either have great suggestions or refer you to a specialist who can help you in your time of frustration and dispair.
Most hospitals will have you see a team of doctors right away. There are several different people on this team and it can be overwelming at first but the best part is they all work together and know what is going on in your babys plan. Usually the team includes the pediatrician, a plastic surgeon, a speech therapist, a geneticist, and a dentist or orthodontist. They will go over treatment plans and work with you to get the best possible results for your baby.
The most interesting thing I learned is that there are several celebritys who have been born with cleft lips, the list includes Cheech Marin, Tom Brokaw, Stacey Keech as well as Juoaquin Phoenix.
The fact is cleft lips are treatable and you are not alone.
