Reasons why feeding young children with cleft lip and palate is more difficult than the average child.
Reason 1: Due to the cleft lip and palate of the affected child, the oral and nasal cavities are connected and a complete airtight structure cannot be formed in the mouth to produce the negative pressure needed for effective sucking.
Cause 2: Due to the change in the distribution and attachment of the muscles of the lip and palate, the development and tension of the muscles are insufficient. This causes tongue retraction; at the same time, tongue overdevelopment and tongue uplift cannot effectively wrap the pacifier during sucking.
Reason 3: Due to shortening or inability to lift the soft palate resulting in imperfect function of the soft palate which affects sucking and swallowing.
Effective feeding methods
Method 1: Pay attention to body position.
(1) Take a sitting position or 45b angle holding position, do not lie flat to avoid choking and coughing.
(2) Adopt face-to-face feeding mode to facilitate observation.
(3) Use prone position so that the nasal cavity is above the mouth without choking and coughing.
Method 2: Block the cleft lip area with your finger to help the lip close while the child is sucking.
Method 3: Use a plastic bottle with a cross-shaped opening because the cross-shaped opening will only open when pressed and the child will not choke.
Method 4: Use squeeze feeding, i.e. buy bottles or syringes or droppers that can be squeezed for feeding.
Method 5: Train the cheek and tongue by blowing up balloons, sucking on the pacifier or massaging the muscles.
Method 6: Place the pacifier in a non-cracked area to avoid excessive local stimulation.
Method 7: Early orthodontic treatment, such as wearing a Hotz aligner made of both hard and soft resin material, covering the entire alveolar ridge and hard and soft palate, which creates negative pressure in the mouth and improves tongue movement, has shown significant improvement in feeding.
Significance of choosing spoon feeding after surgery
Reason 1: Sucking on a pacifier after surgery can cause excessive local tension in the wound, resulting in incomplete wound healing.
Reason 2: Postoperative wound pain and reluctance of the child to suck on the pacifier may result in insufficient feeding.
Method 1: Use a flat-bottomed spoon instead of a deep-bottomed spoon and avoid metal products.
Method 2: Start with a small amount of food and gradually increase it.
Things to note after surgery
(1) Do not feed food that is too hot.
(2) A small amount of warm water should be taken after feeding to clean the mouth.
(3) Avoid the stimulation of residues and hard food.
(4) Keep the wound locally clean and dry.
(5) Avoid excessive crying and scratching and collision with the wound site.