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Mom's Milk Matters
Breastfeeding a Baby With Cleft Lip or Cleft Palate By Gwen Morrison
, a non-profit organization designed to educate, inspire and empower families whose lives are touched by cleft lip and palate or other craniofacial anomalies, babies born with a cleft lip only (no palate involvement) are usually able to nurse with little trouble. The difficulty for moms is often in finding a position that makes it easier for the infant to nurse.
"Modified football position or having the baby in a sitting position, straddling mother's lap can help to prevent choking by working with gravity," says Archambault. "Trial and error with different positions may help a mother to find what works best for her and her baby."
Lactation consultants can offer feeding alternatives that can prevent problems with breastfeeding, such as choking from milk leaking through the nose. This can be very scary to a mother, as well as a potential medical concern for the child.
Breastfeeding and Cleft Palate
Babies born with a cleft palate are less likely to breastfeed directly from their mother's breast. Information on this topic at Cleft Advocate indicates that breastfeeding a baby with a left palate is difficult. The palate is what allows for suction, so when there is a hole in it, the suction needed for breastfeeding is compromised.
"Very few children with cleft palate are successful with direct breastfeeding as their sole source of nutrition," says Mackin. "A good analogy is that of trying to suck through a straw that has a hole in it: You can latch onto it correctly, suck very hard and still not get enough liquid to fill yourself up."
Mackin explains that these babies tend to burn more calories trying to breastfeed than what they take in. For a baby who is likely preparing for surgery, gaining weight is of utmost importance.
