Donate to help cleft babies get the help they need :)

Every 1 in 700 babies are born with cleft (lip and/or palate) and this can affect the babies breathing, eating, weight gain, development, speech, hearing and even their dental health. The diagnosis of a cleft can either come during pregnancy or even after the birth so this can cause the parents a lot of stress, worry and anxiety. Knowing your baby has to undergo surgery at such a young age is such a scary thought but having a charity like clapa, that provide all the information and support necessary, takes away a lot of that worry and stress. Clefts even affect babies into their childhood and can also affect them into their adulthood even after their cleft repairs. A lot of babies have to undergo more than the one surgery as their first repair could fail or it can go on to affect their speech/hearing or their dental health etc. Clapa sticks by these children with regular check ups and support into adulthood and they really do make such a difference to peoples lives. Clefts are unheard of, before my Arthur was born I had heard of a cleft lip however I had not heard of a cleft palate which is what they diagnosed Arthur with as soon as he was born. Luckily the midwife had noticed it when he was crying but some parents/babies don’t get the diagnosis until months after when the baby is struggling to eat or gain weight. Clapa provide cleft bottles for babies to use as they are unable to use normal baby bottles. They provide a free pack of cleft bottles/teats when your babies cleft is diagnosed and you have regular visits with a cleft nurse who also discovered Arthur’s Reflux and contacted our GP privately and sorted us out with the right medication to help. The surgeons that operate on our babies are absolutely incredible in what they do and they do amazing, life changing things for these children. They also provide so much for parents too, the feeling that I had when I was told about Arthur’s cleft was a mixture of shock, worry, stress, wanting to know what that meant for his future and overall I had so many questions. Even now, he’s 1 years old, I still have questions. Once the reality hit of Arthur’s cleft, I felt nothing but guilt. I felt like it was my fault and that I could have prevented him from going through all of this, to this day, I still feel guilt. Along with support from family/friends, through Clapa I fount various Facebook groups for parents of cleft babies and the amount of support/advice I’ve received through them i could not be more grateful for. There are so many parents on there with the same questions as me and the same feelings and it makes you feel relived that your not the only one. Being a cleft mum for the first time I felt alone with all my questions until I fount these groups. None of this would be possible without Clapa! So please, if you can, join me in making a difference. I'm raising money in aid of Cleft Lip and Palate Association and every donation will help. Thank you in advance for your contribution to this cause that means so much to me and this charity is close to many hearts including mine.

More information about Cleft Lip and Palate Association: The Cleft Lip and Palate Association (CLAPA) has been the only national charity dedicated to all those affected by cleft lip and/or palate in the UK. We reach out to families from the moment of diagnosis and help them through any difficulties they have before and after the birth of their child by providing a specialist feeding service as well as targeted information and a national network of trained volunteers providing lifelong one-to-one emotional support and online events.

Thank you so much again for taking the time to read this and if you have donated, thank you so much for your donation. Your donation will go to a child born with a cleft and will go towards helping them get through their cleft journey.

Happy Cleft Week Everyone :)