Kids Health

You tube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5XBTiE3xuc

A cleft palate is a birth defect in which the tissues of the mouth and lip do not form properly during fetal development. A cleft palate occurs in 1 out of 700-1,000 children. It is more likely to occur in children of Asian, Latino, or Native American decent. A child who is having a cleft repaired has surgery within the first 12-18 months. A cleft lip appears as an opening in the skin of the upper lip that extends all the way to the base of the nose. A cleft palate is an opening from the roof of the mouth to the nasal cavity. Some extend through the front and rear part of the palate and others appear as partial clefts. There are three common kinds of clefts: cleft lip without cleft palate, cleft palate without cleft lip, and a cleft lip along with a cleft palate. More boys have a cleft lip and more girls have a cleft palate without a cleft lip. A cleft palate can be seen in a prenatal ultrasound. The cause is unknown, but believed to have genetic and environmental factors.

Kids with clefts are more prone to middle ear fluid collections, hearing loss, and speech defects. Special nipples for bottles have been created in order to help babies with cleft plates. There is a prosthetic plate called an obturator which aids children with clefts during eating. A child who has a cleft palate has to work with a team of specialists including: a geneticist, a plastic surgeon, an ear nose and throat doctor, an oral surgeon, an orthodontist, a dentist, a speech and language pathologist, an audiologist, a nurse coordinator, a social worker, and possibly even a psychiatrist. Normally surgeries are performed during the first 3-6 months for a cleft lip and the first 9-14 months for a cleft palate.

I really enjoyed this website. It was very informative. It provided a lot of helpful information. They sited their sources and had their information peer reviewed which makes the information even more trustworthy. The site was set up so that it was user friendly. It provided helpful information for anyone who could encounter someone who has a cleft, or just anyone who is interested in clefts. I would recommend this website to anyone. Even though the website provided a lot of information it did not present it in a way that was confusing. The website did a great job of laying out the information. It provided great pictures. I learned a lot from this website and highly suggest it to anyone who wants to learn anything about a cleft lip or cleft palate.

http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/ears/cleft_lip_palate.html