1. Help Your Child Eat
A baby born with a cleft palate, or malformed soft tissue at the roof of the mouth, will likely have trouble breastfeeding, nursing from a bottle and eating properly. When this mouth tissue doesn't grow together normally, it leaves a gap that can cause the child to aspirate liquid into the nose and have difficulty ingesting or swallowing milk and food.
Doctors may suggest special nipples to make it easier for babies who have deformity of the lips to feed. You can also insert a prosthetic palate, or obturator, to make it easier for your baby to eat until surgery is feasible.
2. Repair the Cleft
Cleft palate surgery is more invasive than that for a cleft lip, and so it is performed at a later age, generally starting at about 12 months. Several surgeries may be necessary, depending on the severity of the birth defect. Scarring occurs during the healing process, which may be surgically addressed at a later date, when a child is more fully developed.
A team of oral and plastic surgeons as well as an ear, nose and throat specialist will work together to reconstruct the palate to optimal normal appearance and function.
3. Treat Ongoing Effects
Multiple surgeries, scarring and delayed education can contribute to significant speech disorders. Children with cleft palates also tend to have more dental problems, which add to speech difficulty. You may need to consult a dentist and orthodontist to correct a malformed jaw, poor tooth alignment or other dental conditions. A speech and language specialist can then help your child to develop the physical and mental skills needed to communicate.
Children born with cleft palates also have a higher risk of ear infections and hearing trouble. A cleft can interfere with ear drainage and air circulation. Your doctor may treat your child with drainage tubes during the first surgery to prevent hearing loss.
