When a baby with a cleft palate arrives at Children's Hospital Medical Center of Cincinnati, an entire team of specialists mobilizes to correct the physical problems and ease the way to normal childhood.
Cleft palate is an opening in the roof of the mouth.
At about 12 weeks gestation, the vertical sides of the palate normally move into a horizontal position at the top of the mouth and fuse in the center. For genetic causes, and other reasons still unknown, the palates in some children fail to fuse. In approximately one of 700 births, there is some cleft in the palate, the lip or a combination of the two. The palate seals off the nose in most speech production, and the sooner you fix the palate, the better the speech. A Cohesive Team Enter the Cincinnati Children's Craniofacial Anomaly Team .