Breastfeeding a baby with cleft lip and/or palate
- Cleft Lip and Palate Breastfeeding is a wonderful website with lots of information and resources.
- Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine Clinical Protocol #17: Guidelines for Breastfeeding Infants with Cleft Lip, Cleft Palate, or Cleft Lip and Palate
Breastfeeding an infant with cleft lip or cleft palate from Children’s Hospitals and Clinics Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN- Cleft lip and/or palate – feeding your baby from The Children’s Hospital at Westmead
- Breastfeeding a Cleft Lip-Palate Baby from the SMILES website
- Clefts of the Lip and Palate by Barbara Wilson-Clay, BS, IBCLC
- Lactation Information and Resources from Cleft Advocate
- Supplementing the Breastfed Infant with a Cleft by Joan McCartney IBCLC
Mothers’ Breastfeeding Stories
- Blake: Cleft Palate & Micrognathia (Stories of Cleft Care and Inspiration)
Additional breastfeeding resources @ 
- Pumping & Bottle Feeding
- Alternative Feeding Methods
- Links: Exclusive Pumping
- Breastfeeding when baby has surgery
- How can I get help for my breastfeeding problem?
General information (not specifically breastfeeding related)
Information sheets
- Cleft Lip & Cleft Palate from the March of Dimes
- Cleft Lip / Cleft Palate from Children’s Hospital Boston (USA)
- Cleft Palate from emedicine.com
Organizations
- Cleft Advocate Your On-Line Source for Education and Inspiration.
- Cleft Lip & Palate Association (UK)
- Cleft Lip and Palate Association of Ireland
- Cleftpals: The Cleft Lip and Palate Society (Western Australia)
- SMILES Cleft Lip and Palate Support Group
Publications
Nursing a Baby With a Cleft Lip or Palate. This La Leche League pamphlet provides information on the advantages of breastfeeding a baby with a cleft lip or palate as well as advice on breastfeeding after cleft repair surgery. (Available from LLLI)
Herzog-Isler, C. and Honigmann, K. Give Us a Little Time: How Babies with a Cleft Lip or Cleft Palate Can Be Breastfed. IL: Medela, 1996. Booklet from Medela on breastfeeding a baby with a cleft lip or palate. Discusses breastfeeding benefits, techniques, and special feeding aids, as well as forms, causes, and treatment of cleft lip and palate. Includes quotes from parents and many beautiful color photos of babies and parents. Written by a pediatric nurse and lactation consultant and a doctor specializing in jaw and facial surgery. (available from LLLI )
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Breastfeeding the Infant with a Cleft Lip/Palate, Unit 10 of the Lactation Consultant Series, by Sarah Danner, RN, CPNP, IBCLC, and Barbara Wilson-Clay, BS Ed. (available from LLLI)
The Controversial Issue of Breast-feeding Cleft-affected Infants by Jacalyn Miller. This booklet is a comprehensive review of the medical research about clefts and breastfeeding, and summarizes thousands of clefts and breastfeeding experiences. Corrects misinformation about clefts and breastfeeding while also promoting the preventative value of feeding breastmilk.
Journal Articles (most recent listed first)
Aniansson G, Svensson H, Becker M, Ingvarsson L. Otitis media and feeding with breast milk of children with cleft palate. Scand J Plast Reconstr Surg Hand Surg. 2002;36(1):9-15.
Stockdale HJ. Long-term expressing of breastmilk. Breastfeed Rev. 2000 Nov;8(3):19-22.
Biancuzzo M. Clinical focus on clefts. Yes! Infants with clefts can breastfeed. AWHONN Lifelines. 1998 Aug;2(4):45-9.
Crossman K. Breastfeeding a baby with a cleft palate: a case report. J Hum Lact. 1998 Mar;14(1):47-50.
Kogo M, Okada G, Ishii S, Shikata M, Iida S, Matsuya T. Breast feeding for cleft lip and palate patients, using the Hotz-type plate. Cleft Palate Craniofac J. 1997 Jul;34(4):351-3.
Paradise JL, Elster BA, Tan L.Evidence in infants with cleft palate that breast milk protects against otitis media. Pediatrics. 1994 Dec;94(6 Pt 1):853-60.
Cohen M, Marschall MA, Schafer ME. Immediate unrestricted feeding of infants following cleft lip and palate repair. J Craniofac Surg. 1992 Jul;3(1):30-2.
Danner SC. Breastfeeding the infant with a cleft defect. NAACOGS Clin Issu Perinat Womens Health Nurs. 1992;3(4):634-9.
Weatherley-White RC, Kuehn DP, Mirrett P, Gilman JI, Weatherley-White CC. Early repair and breast-feeding for infants with cleft lip. Plast Reconstr Surg. 1987 Jun;79(6):879-87.
Markowitz JA, Gerry RG, Fleishner R. Immediate obturation of neonatal cleft palates. Mt Sinai J Med. 1979 Mar-Apr;46(2):123-9.