The baby with cleft lip and palate can profit from breast-feeding or bottle feeding with a normal soft nipple. Some babies with clefts have very few or not any feeding problems. To make breast feeding easier, the baby is placed in a more upright comfortable position. Feeding difficulties are reported in infants with cleft lip and/or palate. In spite of these difficulties, there are many benefits to the infant to be breastfeed and to the mother to breastfeed. Neonatal feeding orientation is necessary in every case. Because it is an important way to achieve an effective weight gain, educational programs for regular paediatric follow-up, multi professional teams and parents could improve feeding of the babies with cleft lip and/or palate.[3]

3. Mcheik JN et al. Growth in infants in the first two years of life after neonatal repair for unilateral cleft lip and palate. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2010; 74: 465-8.