#40
About Cleft Lip and Palate
What is Cleft Lip and Palate,One of the Most Common Congenital Disorders?
Cleft lip and palate is a visible congenital disorder where a baby is born with a persistent opening, or cleft, in the lip, gums, or the palate (the roof of the mouth). The challenges of this condition extend beyond physical appearance. Some infants may struggle with feeding, have a higher risk of middle ear infections, or require speech therapy and orthodontic treatment.
The basic surgical treatment involves closing the cleft, though additional procedures may be required later to address changes that occur with growth. Current medical techniques can produce results that make the surgery almost unnoticeable.
Today, children receive team-based care right from birth, provided by a diverse group of specialists including pediatricians, plastic surgeons, ENTs, and oral surgeons. After treatment, they are able to lead lives that are nearly identical to those of other children. When proper surgery is performed, there is no need to worry about the child's future.
Incidentally, Betta baby bottles have been endorsed by the Cleft Lip and Palate Association as being suitable for feeding infants with this condition.
In Japan, the condition is reported to occur in approximately 1 in every 500 to 600 births, making it one of the most common congenital anomalies. Racial differences in its frequency are also known, and it is thought to be more prevalent among people of East Asian descent.
Although many aspects of its cause remain unknown, it is believed that multiple factors are involved.
It is thought to occur when an accumulation of minor factors, such as the maternal environment, certain medications, genetic factors, and pure chance, exceeds a specific threshold. However, modern medicine currently has no way to determine the extent of genetic influence.
A Mother's Inner Strength,Even When Shaken and Anxious
The shock a mother feels when she actually gives birth to a baby with a cleft lip and palate is profound. Let me tell you about one such mother from the hospital where I used to work.
At the university hospital where I worked, the new mothers customarily came to the nursery for feedings every three hours, beginning the day after delivery. This particular mother, however, timed things differently. She would arrive about thirty minutes early to feed her baby, and by the time the other mothers started to come in, she would already be heading back to her room. As a novice midwife, I thought to myself, "She must not want to face the other mothers. I guess it can’t be helped," and so I tacitly went along with her staggered schedule.
When the mother's discharge was approaching, her attending physician, who was a woman, arranged a meeting with her. I was asked to sit in as well.
The doctor asked gently, "How are the feedings going? How are you feeling? Is there anything you're worried about for the future?" In response, the mother began to cry, saying, "I don't know what I'm going to do now."
After a little while, the doctor once again explained the future treatment plan and the details of the surgery. The university hospital where I had worked had both a medical and a dental school, so arrangements were always in place to quickly prioritize surgery for babies born with a cleft lip and palate.
Information on how to proceed after leaving the hospital had already been explained to the parents right after the birth.
Gently, but firmly, the doctor told the mother, "Why are you trying to hide such an adorable child? There is nothing to be ashamed of. Raise your child with confidence!"
I’ve seen a number of babies with cleft lip and palate, and it's true, every one of them is incredibly cute.
Initially, I had mixed feelings. I couldn't help but think, "That's easier said than done," and wondered if the doctor was being a little too harsh. But as the doctor, a mother herself, continued to speak with a slow and steady conviction, the new mother gradually lifted her gaze and began to meet the doctor's eyes as they talked.
Then, to my amazement, starting from the very next feeding, she began to come at the same time as everyone else. She would chat with the other mothers for a while before heading back to her room. A lightness returned to her expression, and she seemed to have truly found her footing as a mother.
I was moved not only by the mother's strength, but also by the incredible power of the doctor's words.
I was amazed to see how deeply a message can resonate when it is delivered with love, even if it is firm.
And so I realized that you don't have to be a doctor to have this kind of impact. I resolved in that moment to become a midwife who could do more than just offer sympathy, but one who could help draw out a mother's own inner strength.
There is a saying: "A woman is weak, but a mother is strong."
I’ve always understood this to mean that a woman finds her strength when she becomes a mother. And whether or not women are "weak" to begin with is another question, but there is no doubt that mothers are strong. They have a powerful will, a conviction that they are the one who will protect the child they have borne. While I believe this is a resolve that builds during pregnancy, the unexpected can still deliver a profound shock. When a mother gives birth to a child with a cleft lip and palate, for instance, she is shaken and filled with anxiety, wondering, "Will I be able to raise this child?"
Yet, deep down, every mother possesses this strength.
That, I believe, is what the doctor helped draw out of her.
Her expression was no longer curt and distant. Instead, there was a refreshing clarity about her, as if a great weight had been lifted.
While this was a visible congenital disorder, other, unseen abnormalities may be discovered down the road.
But no matter what happens, it is my hope that a mother remains strong and serves as her child's greatest ally.
After all, only she can be that for her child.
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Midwife Yoko Nambu
After graduating from Tokyo Medical and Dental University School of Nursing and obtaining a national nursing license, and graduating from the Japanese Red Cross School of Midwifery and obtaining a national midwifery license, she worked as a midwife in the obstetrics and gynecology ward of Tokyo Medical and Dental University Hospital, attending over 300 births and picking up babies. After that, she established "Toraube Inc.", a consultation office mainly for women's body. As a woman's ally, she provides consultation for problems at all ages. She believes that women should understand their own body as their own. She believes that this will lead to the solution of all problems and deals with them on a daily basis.
Her hobbies include traveling with her husband, listening to movies and music, and playing healthy mahjong.
What I want you to know from my experience
supporting many mothers as a midwife.
Blog where midwives attend to the anxieties many moms and dads have about raising their children
