What is a Cleft Palate?

A cleft palate is a birth defect. The condition is treatable and many children born with the condition go on to live happy and healthy lives. A cleft palate can be the absence of soft palate or it can be the entire roof of the mouth. Children with the condition may experience some trouble when it comes to eating and drinking certain foods.

A cleft palate occurs when the roof of a child’s mouth does not develop normally. A child will have an opening, which is call the cleft in the palate. It may then go in through the nasal cavity. Clefts may also affect other parts of the face, such as the eyes, ears, nose, cheeks, and forehead. A cleft palate occurs in about one in 700 live births worldwide.

Most infants with a cleft palate will have greater success feeding in a upright position. Gravity will help prevent milk from coming through the baby's nose.

Genetics may play a part in cleft palates many baby’s born with the condition, may have someone else in their family whom have had a child with a cleft palate as well. Children with cleft palates have to undergo a significant amount of treatment.

The good news about children born with a cleft palate is that through surgery the condition may be corrected. Cleft palate can be corrected by surgery, which is usually done when the child is still young, preferably between 6 and 12 months. The child may have to undergo more than one surgery, and may have to enroll in speech classes later. 

There is still a lot to learn about cleft palates. Research has come a long way, but there is more to learn about exactly why the condition affects some children.