Feeding Your Infant
A newborn with a cleft lip may be able to feed in ways common to infants in general. Mothers interested in nursing may find that the breast tissue fills the cleft in a such a way that she and baby may find that they are able to create a successful breast-feeding routine. Parents of a newborn with a cleft palate may need to appraoch feeding in some different ways including and may benefit from the following suggestions:
- An infant with a cleft palate will have greater success feeding in a more upright position. Gravity will help prevent milk from coming through the baby’s nose if he/she has cleft palate.
- Parents who are interested in making breast milk available to their child with a cleft palate can still do so by using a breast pump. Hospital lacatation consultants are good sources of information for pump availability and rental. It is extremely challenging and unlikely for a child with cleft palate to have success feeding directly at the breast.
- Use a cleft palate nurser or other squeezable bottle with a larger x-cut hole in the nipple. The hole in an orthodontic nipple can be turned into a “x” shaped opening using a razor blade if a specialized bottle is not immediately available.
- Caregivers should take their time with feeding and burp the baby frequently. Infants with cleft palate tend to swallow a lot of air during feedings.
- Eventually, feeding time should be no more than 30 minutes for 2-3 ounces.
- Remember that your cleft palate – craniofacial treatment team should be your first source for feeding support. The team’s nurse, occupational therapist, social worker, speech-language pathologist or other professional will serve the team and its families as feeding support specialist. Just ask!
Bottle Manufacturers:
The following companies manufacture bottles for infants with cleft palate:
Mead Johnson’s Cleft Palate Nurser 1-800-222-9123
Medela’s Haberman Feeder 1-800-435-8316
Pigeon Bottle (from Children’s Medical Ventures) 1-888-766-8443