Newborns with cleft lip and palate need to be fed with more care. By choosing the proper way, they can grow up as healthy as other children.
1) Breastfeeding: Breast milk contains the nutrients that best meet the baby’s needs and contains immune substances from the mother that increase resistance and are safe, convenient and economical and hygienic. The mother’s breasts are warm and comfortable, and the nipples are soft and elastic, most suitable for infants to suckle. Breastfeeding not only provides newborns with the best diet, but also gives them the best affection in the world.
When breastfeeding, the baby should hold the nipple and areola, and the mother can hold the cleft lip gap with her fingers to help sucking. Babies with cleft lip combined with cleft palate often have difficulty breastfeeding due to lack of sucking power, so breast milk can be sucked out with a breast pump and then injected into the bottle for feeding. Special bottle teats should be used for feeding.
(2) Bottle feeding: Choose a squeezable, plastic bottle to help babies with poor sucking power to eat. Choose a larger, softer teat. Generally, latex teats are softer. The opening of the pacifier is preferable to Y or cross-shaped, so that when the opening is pressed, the pacifier mouth will open and the baby will not choke. It is advisable to use a pacifier with an air vent to facilitate feeding.
3) Feeding precautions: Pacifier placement: should be placed on the intact lip side, palate side, never towards the cleft to avoid abrading the palate cleft or nasal mucosa. The baby needs to be held 45 degrees for feeding and kept in a comfortable position. Do not feed flat on your back to avoid milk flowing into the nasal cavity or choking. Children with cleft lip and palate are more prone to swallowing air and need to be fed in separate feedings. Pat the back gently during pauses in between to help burp and avoid spitting up. After feeding, let your baby sleep prone or on his right side, which is good for digestion and prevents choking. If there is milk dirt in the mouth and nose, use a cotton swab with boiling water to wipe it and keep the mouth clean. When there is damage to the lip and palate, go to the dentist in time. When breastfeeding, sometimes milk will flow back from the nose, there is no need to panic, just stop feeding temporarily, wipe it with a soft clean cotton cloth or tissue and continue feeding after the baby coughs or sneezes. Each feeding should take no more than half an hour.