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Babies with cleft palate have difficulty producing enough suction with their mouth to breastfeed (Figure 1). If your baby has a cleft palate, breastfeeding most likely is not possible. They may latch but will most likely have difficulty staying on the breast. They may end up frustrated and losing weight. Breast milk is especially important, so we recommend that you pump and give expressed breast milk to your baby through a specialty bottle. If you wish to breastfeed for bonding, we recommend feeding your baby first with a specialty bottle for nutrition and then putting them to your breast for comfort and bonding.
Most babies with cleft lip or cleft lip and gum (alveolus) can breastfeed.
Figure 1: Breastfeeding and clefts
a. Breastfeeding without a cleft palate. The baby is able to generate suction inside their mouth, allowing for the milk to be expressed from the nipple
b. Breastfeeding with a cleft palate. Due to the connection between the mouth and the nose, air rushes in through the nose during suction, and the baby is unable to generate enough suction with their mouth, preventing them from being able to express sufficient amounts of milk from the nipple
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