What Is Cleft Lip Or Palate: Any Treatment?
A cleft lip or palate are openings or splits in the upper lip, the roof of the mouth (palate) or both. A cleft palate is when there’s an opening in the palate of the mouth that doesn’t close before birth, while a cleft lip occurs when there’s an opening at the lip which can expose the mouth to the nasal passages. (Some babies are born with both.) Depending on the size of the cleft and its location, it can prevent your baby from generating suction on the nipple. This makes it much harder for her to stimulate milk production and letdown.
Cleft Lip
A cleft lip can range from a little notch in the coloured part of the lip to a complete separation of the upper lip which can extend up and into the nose. This can affect one side of the mouth (unilateral) or both sides (bilateral) and can be complete (meaning the cleft goes up into the nose) or incomplete.
A cleft lip can also affect the gum where the teeth come through. Again, this can range from a small notch to a complete separation of the gum into two parts.
Cleft Palate
A cleft palate is a gap in the roof of the mouth. The back of the palate (towards the throat) is called the soft palate, and the front (towards the lips) is called the hard palate. A cleft can affect the soft palate or both the soft and hard palate.
Sometimes a baby with a cleft palate may have a small lower jaw (mandible), and a few babies with this combination may have difficulties with breathing. This condition may be identified as Pierre Robin Sequence.
You can have a cleft lip, a cleft palate, or a cleft lip and palate. A cleft palate by itself is often called an isolated cleft palate.
Cleft Palate Causes
If you have a child with a cleft, it is very unlikely to be because of something you did or did not do.
No one knows exactly what causes a cleft. Research tells us it’s often caused by a combination of different genetic and environmental factors.
Genetics is all about things inherited from family members, like eye and hair colour. With a cleft, sometimes there is a clear family link, other times, it just happens as a ‘one-off’.
Environmental factors mean things that happen just before or during pregnancy, like taking a certain medicine or how the baby starts growing in the womb.
Most of the time, a cleft is caused by genetic and environmental factors coming together in a way that can’t be predicted or prevented.
Sometimes a cleft is caused by part of a ‘syndrome’, which is when lots of different symptoms happen together.
If you want to find out more about what caused your or your child’s cleft, the Clinical Geneticist in your Cleft Team might be able to help you.
How to fix a cleft palate or lip: Both cleft palates and cleft lips are usually diagnosed at birth, and they’re easily treatable with surgery. It is important to work with a lactation consultant because cleft palates and lips may make breastfeeding impossible, but pumping breast milk and bottle-feeding with a specially-designed bottle can do the trick until your little one can have surgery.
Cleft palate surgery is needed to close the gap left by the cleft. This will usually happen when the child is under a year old.
Every cleft is unique, just like every child, so the exact treatment pathway will vary. It may include further surgery to help with issues such as speech and growth of adult teeth. It may also include speech therapy, help with hearing, orthodontic work, etc.
