Most of the babies born in this world are healthy. But out of 100 children born, 3 infants will be born with congenital (existing at or before birth regardless of cause) or hereditary birth defects. Cleft lip is considered as the fourth most common birth defect found among infants. One out of 700 babies born annually is found to born with cleft lip with or without cleft palate.
Giving birth to a child with a cleft lip can cause a psychological impact on the parents especially the mother.
Cleft lip is facial malformation found in newly born infants. An infant with a cleft lip will have the upper lip physically separated into two with a narrow opening. Sometimes, this separation is often found to extend beyond the base of the nose. In most of the cases, upper jaw and upper gum are also found to separate.
Cleft lip can occur as unilateral (one-sided) or bilateral (two sided)
The roof of the mouth is called palate. When the roof of the mouth possesses a split or opening, cleft palate is said to occur. It is another malformation found among newborns.
The development of the lip and palate are not connected. So, it is not necessary that a cleft lip (CL) is accompanied by a cleft palate (CP) and vice versa. But both the cleft palate and cleft lip together (CLP) are also found in many cases.
The structure of the mouth and face starts to take shape during the first trimester of pregnancy. The lips start to develop between the 4th and 7th weeks of pregnancy. The development of the lips starts from both side of the face and then fuses at the center. When the tissues that form the lips are not properly joint together, cleft lip occurs.
The exact cause of cleft lips in babies is still unknown. Some scientists think that the interaction of both environmental and genetic factors are behind the formation of cleft lips. Some of the reasons believed to be behind cleft lips are:
Several difficulties are associated with cleft lip that affects the baby by hindering a normal life. The difficulties increase with the severity of the cleft lip. A split in the lip that can vary from a small notch in the lip to large extension that starts from the lip, passing through the upper gum and palate and getting into the bottom of the nose.
One of the main issue the baby faces is the trouble to breast feed. This depends on the severity of the cleft. The baby with a minor notch won’t face many issues. But when the gum also bears a cleft, then breast feeding may not be an easy task for him.
Some of the issues that the baby has to face in the future due to CL are:
Distinctive physical changes are caused due to cleft lip. A prenatal ultrasound scan can some time disclose the presence of a cleft lip in an unborn child. If diagnosis of cleft lip is missed during an ultra sound scan (which occurs very rarely), CL is easily diagnosed during the first look at the baby after the birth.
An infant with a cleft lip needs several surgeries to correct the abnormality. Managing the cleft lip is equally important as the treatment. Because of several oral and medical issues that usually accompany the cleft lip, there will be a team of specialists to assist the child and to meet the individual needs of the child while undergoing treatment. The typical panel includes:
As the child grows, cleft lip treatment may involve the following:
Surgery to repair the cleft lip is done within three to six months after the baby is born. The first stage of the surgery includes:
The Surgery will improve not only your child’s appearance but also his quality of life, and his capability to eat, breathe and talk normally.
When you give birth to a baby with a cleft lip, you can be in a boundless torment. But now you understand that the cleft lip and cleft palate can be successfully corrected with a minimal scarring. So now go ahead with the treatment with an optimistic mind and help and encourage your child to lead a normal healthy life.
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