Connor
In early pregnancy, different parts of a baby’s face develop separately and then join together. If some parts do not join properly, the baby is born with a cleft. A cleft lip and/or palate is the most common craniofacial abnormality which babies can be born with. Around one in 700 babies are born with a cleft around the world - that’s around 1,200 babies born with a cleft each year in the UK. Of these, around 45% will have a cleft palate on its own, 24% will have a cleft lip on its own, and 31% will have a cleft lip and palate.
NHS Cleft Teams in the UK are made up of a number of specialists from surgeons to speech therapists dedicated to providing the best possible care for people born with a cleft, from infancy through to adulthood.
This project reflects on cleft care from baby to adulthood in celebration of The Spires Cleft Centre, Salisbury & Oxford. A mother and son share their thoughts, recollections and responses to the cleft care received over a lifetime.
Funded by the Stars Appeal and Oxford Hospitals Charity.
