Pregnancy in and of itself can be an extremely anxiety ridden time— not only are you constantly worried about the health of your baby but also about the new life changes it is going to bring to your family once your baby is born. However, if you find out that your baby has some health issues while in utero, then your anxiety will be even more magnified. As a birth defect that affects approximately 1 in 600 babies, cleft palate is a condition that occurs when both the left and the right side on the roof of your mouth don’t join correctly. If you have recently found out that your child has a cleft palate, one of the best things that you can do to stay calm is to be informed. Read on to learn more about cleft palate.
How Does It Occur?
During the first trimester of your pregnancy, your baby’s cleft will typically develop and will show during your first major ultrasound. If, however, there is either some sort of either hereditary or environmental impact on your child during this stage, then their palate might not fully develop and they may have a cleft palate.
What Does a Cleft Palate Mean Exactly?
When considering the ramifications of having a cleft palate, it’s important to know what this will mean for the development of your child. Having a cleft palate can cause things like eating, speaking to become very difficult— which could cause your child to have to use something like a feeding tube in order to get the proper nutrition that they need.
Can It Be Fixed?
The best news about your child having a cleft palate is that the experts at Associated Plastic Surgeons & Consultants can fix your child’s cleft palate at around 9 weeks. During a surgical procedure, your child’s palate will be rebuilt and close off so that they can speak and chew just like normal. In fact, with surgery and some speech therapy, your child should not have any difficulty further down the line.
If your child has a cleft palate and you just found out during your pregnancy, contact the experts at Associated Plastic Surgeons & Consultants to have your questions answered.
