Cleft lip and Palate: A Health Condition that can be Repaired.
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Today I will be bringing awareness to a particular birth condition that a lot of people are not aware of. While growing up we had children with these birth defects where a newborn baby had openings or splits in the roof of the mouth and lip and those children were termed possessed children, evil children and so on. They were tagged to come from the marine world because a lot of people never knew it was a birth defect and yes, I believed all of that.
Most parents choke their children to death and most abandoned them and ran away but now being in the health field has really exposed me to a lot of things. I had come to find out that those children were neither possessed or from the marine kingdom like was said.I came to discover that those openings or splits in the upper lip and in the roof of the mouth were common birth defects called cleft lip and palate
Cleft Lip and cleft palate occur when tissues in an unborn baby's face and mouth don’t come together properly. They're congenital abnormalities. The tissues that make up the lip and palate come together in the first few weeks of pregnancy but in babies with cleft lip and palate only come together part way thereby leaving an opening. This birth defect causes discomforts to the babies during feeding, they have a hard time feeding and this makes most of them so malnourished while some are choked to death by upset mothers who are not happy taking care of them. And these children while growing up have difficulty with speaking. About 1 in every 1,600 babies is born with cleft lip and palate. Most children especially the males are more likely to have a cleft lip without cleft palate and while cleft palate without cleft clip is more common in females. These birth defects are commonly called OROFACIAL CLEFTS.
CLEFT LIP
The lip forms between the fourth and seventh weeks of pregnancy. Tissues from each side of our head join together at the center of the face to make our lips and mouth. A Cleft Lip happens if the tissue that makes up the Lid does not join completely before birth. This results in an opening in the upper lip. The cleft can range from a small indentation to a large gap that reaches the nose. It can be on one or both sides of the Lip or in the middle of the Lip which occurs very rarely.
CLEFT PALATE
The roof of the mouth(palate) forms between six and nine weeks of pregnancy. A Cleft palate happens if the tissue that makes up the roof of the mouth does not join together completely during pregnancy. A Cleft palate can include the hard palate i.e the bony front portion of the roof of the mouth or the soft palate I.e the Soft back portion of the roof of the mouth
Symptoms of Cleft lip and palate.
Cleft lip and cleft palate can be detected at birth. There are Various Signs and symptoms used to identify a baby with cleft lip or palate. They include:
- Difficulty with Feeding
- Having Difficulty with speaking clearly.
- Difficulty in Swallowing
- The upper gum, and tooth development may be affected.
Causes of Cleft Lip and Palate
It is believed that clefts are caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. There is also a Greater chance of a newborn having a cleft if a sibling or parent had a cleft lip or palate. Other factors that can contribute to the development of a cleft includes:
Not getting required vitamins in the body during the trimester of pregnancy may raise the risk of cleft lip and cleft palate.
A pregnant mother smoking or using Tobacco. A pregnant mother taking certain strong medications to either terminate the life of the baby or Taking self medications during pregnancy.
Treatment of Cleft Lip and Palate
Surgeries are conducted by surgeons who specialize in cleft repair, to repair the defect and therapies to improve any related conditions. When Children with OROFACIAL cleft are treated, the essence is to improve the child's Ability to eat, speak and hear normally and also to achieve a normal facial Appearance
The Repaired Lip
Having a baby born with these defects can be so traumatizing for the parents and most parents that didn’t have proper knowledge on how to care for those children lost their babies in the process but the good thing now is that surgeries can be done to repair both the cleft lip and palate. This is the knowledge that parents were not aware of which made them abandon their children. Health personnels; doctors, nurses, health educators, community health workers should try to create this awareness to parents that are still not aware that babies with these defects can be treated.
All Images are Mine
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I see this condition quite often around here and I’ve always wondered what it was called and what its medical evidence-based prognosis was. I'm not sure I've met someone with a repaired cleft before, but I'm sure I wouldn't know if I did because it'd look pretty normal, right?
Also, I knew there was some sort of stigma against children born with these birth defects, but I never imagined the stigma had spiritual mythology as its basis. I am especially shocked by the extent that some parents as you’ve described, go to (cancelling) these children. Around here, Down Dyndrome is what I know had a history of being treated with this similar sentiment.
This is a very insightful post. Maybe in subsequent posts you can include some reference links to some articles for further reading that could help us understand and corroborate some of the facts you’ve shared? Btw, I didn’t know you worked in the health sector – that’s awesome. Keep doing the amazing work you do, and God Bless You :)
The importance of awareness is very important because a lot of defects and diseases are laden with myths and misconceptions that make people stigmatize, avoid and even do harm to someone just because of their wrong perceptions.
You did well by shedding light on the issue of cleft lip and palate and by sharing such clear pictures to accompany it while maintaining the privacy of the children involved.
Welldone.