However, it is true that parents who were born with cleft palate or cleft lip are somewhat more likely than other parents to have children with these defects. Cleft palate and cleft lip result from failure of the two sides of the face to unite properly at an early stage of prenatal development. Sometimes only the soft palate, located at the rear of the mouth, is involved. The infant with a cleft palate is unable to suckle properly, because the opening between mouth and nose through the palate prevents suction. Feeding must be done by other means, with a dropper, a cup, a spoon, or an obturator, a device inserted in the mouth to close the cleft while the baby is sucking.
Cleft palate allows food to get into the nose, and it causes difficulty in chewing and swallowing.
Later it will hinder speech, because consonants such as g, b, d, and f, which are normally formed by pressure against the roof of the mouth, are distorted by resonance in the nasal cavity. The cleft may also prevent movements of the soft palate essential in clear speech. Treatment of cleft palate and cleft lip is by surgery, followed by measures to improve speech. A cleft palate should be reconstructed by plastic surgery when the child is about 18 months old, before he learns to talk. The corrective work usually requires only one operation.