Feeding considerations in infants born with cleft lip and palate

Abstract

Infants born with the congenital deformity of cleft lip and or palate suffer from varieties of complications since the day 1 of their life. The most important of which is the feeding difficulty which leads to insufficient food intake and thereby causing deleterious effects on their overall development leading to malnutrition and death in some cases. However, research into the anatomical variations of these infants in the region of lip and palate has led to the development of several types of feeders and their modifications which would help them thrive well in the initial days and also for later. Hence, it is worth important to know about them in detail and help these infants and their families psychologically so that the infants do not suffer from feeding difficulties anymore.