This page is designed as a guide to some of the
ways that your baby may be helped with feeding, so that you can enjoy these
times together. It is not intended to replace the help you and your baby
should be able to receive from maternity staff and specialist nurses/health
visitors or other members of the team looking after your baby with a cleft
( commonly called the cleft team).
All babies spend most of their early weeks feeding and
sleeping. As well as satisfying hunger and thirst, feeding is a time of
social interaction when a baby is most alert and parents and babies begin
to get to know each other. Unless your baby has other problems you should
not need to be separated from your baby.
In order to feed, babies need to form a vacuum inside
the mouth and to position the tongue properly. This is usually done by
sealing the lips around the nipple or teat and closing off the back of
the mouth with the soft palate.
Babies with clefts may not be able to do this efficiently
and need some extra help. Those with a small lower jaw or mandible, known
as sequence, may at first have difficulty with co-ordinating swallowing
and breathing.
Ways of helping may include:-
Babies with cleft palate and other difficulties
may need extra help and advice. If a baby is fed by tube for any length
of time it is helpful for the cleft team to be aware of this, as some teams
feel it is important not to delay sucking unless there is a medical reason
for doing so.
Babies with clefts may swallow more air than normal during
feeding, especially if the flow of milk is either too slow or too fast,
and may show this by having a blue moustache, being extra sleepy or bringing
up some of their feed.
If this is so, stopping 2 or 3 times during the feed to
burp the baby, or sitting the baby in a more upright position may be helpful.
All babies can lose up to 10% of their birthweight but
usually regain it in 2 - 3 weeks. Babies with cleft lip or cleft palate
may take longer to gain weight. If a baby is having 5-6 wet nappies a day
and regular motions, is healthy and alert, these are indications that he
or she is being fed sufficiently.
Every mother and baby is unique , so it is not possible
to give hard and fast rules to follow. Some babies feed easily and others
take more time to find the way which suits them even if they have the same
type of cleft. Try and give yourself time to sit comfortably and be relaxed
. Make sure your baby is given enough time with one method of feeding before
trying alternatives, and make a note of which member of the cleft team
is there to help you with feeding, and contact them if you are concerned.
