Recognize the Symptoms, Causes of Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate

Cleft lip and cleft palate are congenital abnormalities in newborns that occur in the structure of a person's face and mouth. This condition can affect a person's ability to speak, breathe, eat, and affect physical appearance. A cleft lip can occur in the lip area, cleft palate, and also the gums. If it occurs in a cleft palate, it often goes undetected because its location in the mouth is not visually displayed like on the lips.

Symptoms of cleft lip and palate in babies include:

• In cleft lip, a gap is seen in the baby's upper lip which can involve one side or both sides of the lip.
• In the cleft palate, you can see a gap in the roof of the baby's mouth, usually in the middle of the palate (cleft palate).
• Breastfeeding problems Babies with cleft lip and/or cleft palate may have difficulty suckling because the cleft lip or palate makes it difficult for them to form a firm suck. So it will be difficult for the baby to gain weight, besides that it can also come out through the nose when breastfeeding.
• Speech problems, as babies grow and start learning to speak, these abnormalities can affect their speech abilities. They may have difficulty pronouncing certain sounds or have an unusual voice (nasal).
• Recurrent ear infections. Babies with cleft palates can have a higher risk of recurrent ear infections because the cleft can affect the canal between the middle ear and the oral cavity.

Several factors can cause cleft lip, including:

• Genetic factors, cleft lip can occur due to genetic factors inherited from one or both parents. If one or both parents have a family history of cleft lip, their child's risk of developing this condition increases.
• Environmental factors, and exposure to certain chemicals or drugs during pregnancy can increase the risk of cleft lip in the fetus. For example, drinking alcohol or smoking during pregnancy is known to increase the risk of this disorder.
• Nutrition and vitamin deficiency, deficiency of folic acid or vitamin B in the diet of pregnant women can increase the risk of abnormalities in fetal development, including cleft lip.
• Infection: Infections that occur during pregnancy, such as rubella virus infection (German measles) or cytomegalovirus, can increase the risk of cleft lip in the fetus.
• Other environmental factors, some research shows that exposure to radiation, environmental pollutants, or certain physical factors such as pressure on the uterus during pregnancy can also contribute to the occurrence of cleft lip.

It should be noted that both cleft lip and cleft palate can be identified during a prenatal examination using scanning techniques such as ultrasound. This allows medical professionals to provide appropriate care and planning for mothers and babies affected by this disorder. Therefore, always consult pregnancy. However, if this condition occurs, RSU Hermina Purwokerto can handle cleft lip and cleft palate surgeries for free.

To make it easier to access services & registration at Hermina Purwokerto Hospital, here's how:

1.  Download the mobile application on Playstore (Type Hello Hermina) 
2. Contact Call Center 1500488
3. Through the website -> www.herminahospitals.com 
4. Through the Halodoc application