Infants with a cleft of the palate, regardless of the severity of that cleft, require special consideration for feeding. The cleft of the palate results in the infant’s inability to separate the nose from the mouth. Without this separation, the infant is unable to generate the negative pressure that is essential for sucking. Thus, when attempting to draw milk from the nipple, the infant experiences what others would experience when trying to drink using a straw with a hole in the side.  Swallowing is not impacted by a cleft of the palate. Once the milk enters the infant’s mouth, swallowing safety is the same as that of children who do not have a cleft palate.
There are several feeding systems that have been designed to make feeding infants with cleft palate relatively easy. All of these systems have been designed to help the baby move the milk from the bottle into the mouth for swallow. At MUSC, a Speech Pathologist will help the parents get started feeding their infant. The parents will also be asked to have the baby’s weight checked weekly for the first few weeks. In this way, the family and the Craniofacial Team will be assured that the baby is feeding and growing well. The Speech Pathologist will also be available if feeding question or difficulties arise before the first appointment with the Craniofacial Team. The World Health Organization and the American Medical Association promote the use of breast milk during the first few months of an infant’s life. Because providing full nourishment of infants with cleft palate by breastfeeding is unlikely, those mothers wishing to provide breast milk will want to secure a good breast pump so that the infant can then have the advantages of breast milk delivered by bottle. Hospital Lactation Consultants will help mothers secure a good breast pump. Infants with a cleft of the lip, but without a cleft palate, are able to feed as easily as infants who are free of cleft lip or palate. Because the palate is intact, these babies are able to establish negative oral pressure for the purpose of sucking. Breastfeeding the infant with only a cleft of the lip, regardless of the severity of that cleft, is generally uneventful as the latch on the nipple is created by the infant’s tongue sealing the nipple against the roof of the mouth. | 
