Cleft Lip
Prehistoric art tells historians that people once thought congenital diseases, or birth defects, werebad omens or the displeasing of the gods. In one instance, it was thought that cleft lip was caused by themother of the baby being startled by a rabbit. Odd as it may seem, at that time it was the most logicalexplanation for that particular birth defect. However, now we know that a cleft lip is not caused by amother being startled by a rabbit, but by the environment the mother is in, the ethnicity, race, genetics,sex, and so on. Cleft lip is the fourth most frequent congenital disease in the United States. On average,one of every 700 newborns is affected by this disease, which means that approximently 5,000 babies areborn with cleft lip every year. This very common defect goes along with many other defects as well. Affected babies go through surgery to sew the lip around 1 to 2 months of age, later dental/orthodonticcare, ear care, and speech therapy. Although a lot of cleft lip cases accommodate some mental situations,a lot of cases do not. First of all, the prefix "cleft" means "split," so knowing this, a cleft lip is a separation, or split, in the upper lip. The cleft might only be on one side of the lip making a small notch,or
If the mother smokes or chews tobacco,drinks alcohol or is taking any illegal substances, the baby has a higher risk to be born with a cleft lip. Compensatory speech can develop and be very difficult for adults to understand. The goal of cleft lip surgery is to close the separation in the child'supper lip, creating a normal look with normal functions. Also, the child could face even worse emotional problems. Other studies have shown that fetuses with a certain gene can be at higher risk of developing cleft lip if their mothers smoke. TheEustachian tube, a tube that connects the ear to the throat, is opened by muscles in the palate, allowing airinto the middle ear space by yawning or swallowing. This is the result of chronic fluid in themiddle ear, or ear infections, which result from reduced ventilation through the Eustachian tube. However, as with any operation, there are risks with surgery. With all thesedifficulties, many people wonder why there is not some type of cure or prevention for cleft lip. Surgeries can be done to make the child's face look normal withnormal functions, speech pathologists can help the child to speak more clearly and with betterpronunciation, and doctor's can insert tubes in the ears of the diseases children to rid them of thedeafening fluid inside their ears. These flaps overlap to close the cleft, restore muscle function, and form the normal lipshape. Brushing teeth might not seem that important in comparison to othertreatments the child is getting, but actually it's very important. Little is known about how to prevent clefts, however, a recent study shows that takingmultivitamins containing folio acid before conception and during the first two months of pregnancy canhelp prevent cleft lip. Elbow restraints are probably going to be necessary for a few weeksto keep the baby from rubbing the stitched area.
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