Parental Emotions Caused By Cleft Palate
As a parent, it's upsetting to learn that your child will be or has been born with a cleft palate. You'll be concerned about your child's appearance; there may be a large gap in the roof of the mouth and or both sides of the upper lip. You'll also be concerned about the medical side effects. A cleft palate means that your child will require constant care and special feeding arrangements. It may involve pain if your baby experiences problems with breathing. Understanding the causes and treatment for cleft palate is key to dealing with your own feelings surrounding your child's condition.
Cleft palate, along with cleft lip, is a congenital deformity caused by abnormal facial development during pregnancy. The term cleft palate comes from “cleft”, which is a split, and from “palate”, which is the upper surface of the mouth that separates the cavities of the nose and mouth. Cases of cleft palate were first documented as far back as 400 BC by Hippocrates. It took well over another thousand years for cleft palate to be officially classified as a congenital disorder in 1556.
The first successful surgery of a soft cleft palate was performed in 1764, and the first hard cleft palate in 1834. Up until recently, surgery was considered risky and unrealistically expensive. Therefore, it was usually the adult population that had the surgery performed, leaving many children to suffer from cleft palate symptoms, including difficulty in breathing and speaking, as well as various psychosocial issues.
Understanding the Treatments for Cleft Palate
It's important to realize that a cleft palate does not mean that your baby is mortally wounded or terminally ill. Current surgical options make treating cleft palate feasible. And methods like cup feeding ensure that your child can still obtain the nourishment her or she needs until they are old enough to undergo the surgery.
Cleft palate surgery involves the repairing of a cleft palate and or cleft lip, which requires closing the gap. Cleft lip surgery is done at about the 2-3 month mark, whereas cleft palate surgery is usually held off until 9-12 months from birth, so that your child can achieve an ideal weight. The cleft palate operation involves putting your baby to sleep with general anesthesia, and requires a total hospital stay of about 3-5 days. Following cleft palate surgery, special postoperative instructions are given regarding feeding and restraining the baby's arms until healing can take place.
Dealing with your child's cleft palate will not be easy and may involve a range of conflicting emotions. Though you may struggle with feelings of anger, depression and fear, remember that your child needs you to be strong. It may be a difficult year for your family because of stress, hospital visits, post-operative work and, possibly, additional surgeries. But the good news is that babies born with cleft palate can make a full recovery and can go on to live rewarding and healthy lives.
The value of a person is not determined by their appearance at birth but by the quality of life they continue to experience. Some very famous and successful people were born with a cleft lip, cleft palate or microform cleft, including Jesse Jackson, British clergywoman Joanna Jepson, Attorney-General of British Columbia Geoff Plant, actors Stacy Keach and Joaquin Phoenix and award winning novelists Michael Helm and Tim Lott. A cleft palate or cleft lip is nothing to be ashamed of or to fear. Thanks to modern technology cleft palate surgery is safer than ever before and can help a child make a full recovery.