Cleft lip and cleft palate are considered to be two separate birth defects. Cleft lip happens to one in every one thousand births and is more common than cleft palate. Cleft palate occurs in one in every two thousand births. Both cleft lip and cleft palate occur more often in Asians and certain groups of American Indians. Boys are more susceptible to cleft lip and girls to cleft palate. Even though they are considered two separate birth defects, a baby can be born with both.

A cleft is defined as a separation in a body structure. Cleft lip and palate both occur in the early stages of pregnancy. At about five weeks into pregnancy the tissues of the upper jaw and nose don’t join as they are expected to. Cleft palate is when the roof of the mouth does not develop normally and fuses together. This would occur in about the tenth week of pregnancy.

It is not known on how cleft lip or palate happens. There have been genetic links to both. If you have a cleft lip or palate chances are that you could pass that on to your own kids. However if parents do not have either form of cleft and have a baby with a cleft the chances of having another baby with a cleft is around 2-8 percent. If another baby is born with a cleft it will be the same as its sibling. If a parent has a type of cleft, then their children have an increased risk in about 4-6 percent, however the more children you have the higher the risk. Research has shown that cigarette smoking during pregnancy greatly increases the risk of both. There are a few genes as well as environmental factors that could contribute to these birth defects. Drinking during pregnancy and a deficiency of folic acid have both been linked to an increased risk in developing cleft lip or palate, as has the mother having an illness during pregnancy. Babies born with cleft lip have a 13% chance of having other birth defects. Cleft palate is known to be associated with more genetic syndromes than cleft lip. Research has shown that babies that are born with a cleft palate are at 50% risk in having other birth defects.

Surgery for cleft lip is usually done in the first five months or earlier. It depends on the severity of the cleft. Some doctors may prefer to correct the cleft when the baby is healthy, weighing at least ten pounds and is ten weeks old. Before the surgery on the cleft the baby may be fitted with a piece to support their lip during feeding. Corrections for a cleft palate are different. The ages for surgery are usually around nine to eighteen months. Additional surgeries may be done if the shape of the baby’s nose is irregular, for cosmetic reasons. Other treatments may be offered if any other problems come up, such as speech therapy.

Michael Russell

Your Independent Baby and Toddler guide.

1. “A baby is God’s way of saying the world should go on.” - Doris Smith

2. “My Dad knew I was going to be a comedian. When I was a baby he said, ‘Is this a joke?” - Ken Dodd

3. “Being touched and caressed, being massaged, is food for the infant; food as necessary as minerals, vitamins, and proteins. Deprived of this food, the name of which is love, Babies would rather die. And often they do.” - Frederick Leboyer

4. “I always wondered why babies spend so much time sucking their thumbs. Then I tasted “baby food.” - Robert Orben

5. “Did you ever notice that a new baby always seem to bear a striking resemblance to the relative who has the most money?” - Robert Paul

6. “There are three reasons for breast-feeding: the milk is always at the right temperature; it comes in attractive containers; and the cat can’t get it.” - Irena Chalmers

7. “You should never say anything to a woman that even remotely suggests that you think she’s pregnant unless you can see an actual baby emerging from her at that moment.” - Dave Barry, “Things That It Took Me 50 Years to Learn”

8. “It sometimes happens, even in the best of families, that a baby is born. This is not necessarily cause for alarm. The important thing is to keep your wits about you and borrow some money.” - Elinor Goulding Smith

9. “Getting down on all fours and imitating a rhinoceros stops babies from crying. (Put an empty cigarette pack on your nose for a horn and make loud “snort” noises.) I don’t know why parents don’t do this more often. Usually it makes the kid laugh. Sometimes it sends him into shock. Either way it quiets him down. If you’re a parent, acting like a rhino has another advantage. Keep it up until the kid is a teenager and he definitely won’t have his friends hanging around your house all the time.” - P.J. O’Rourke

10. “It is a pleasant thing to reflect upon, and furnishes a complete answer to those who contend for the gradual degeneration of the human species, that every baby born into the world is a finer one than the last.” - Charles Dickens

11. “If you desire to drain to the dregs the fullest cup of scorn and hatred that a fellow human being can pour out for you, let a young mother hear you call dear baby ‘it’.” -Jerome K. Jerome

12. “Every new baby is a blind desperate vote for survival: people who find themselves unable to register an effective political protest against extermination do so by a biological act.” - Lewis Mumford

13. “Babies are necessary to grown-ups. A new baby is like the beginning of all things - wonder, hope, a dream of possibilities. In a world that is cutting down its trees to build highways, losing its earth to concrete… babies are almost the only remaining link with nature, with the natural world of living things from which we spring.” - Eda J. Le Shan

14. “A woman has two smiles that an angel might envy - the smile that accepts a lover before words are uttered, and the smile that lights on the first born babe, and assures it of a mother’s love.” - Thomas C. Haliburton

15. “I don’t know any parents that look into the eyes of a newborn baby and say, How can we screw this kid up.” - Russell Bishop

16. “Families with babies and families without are so sorry for each other.” - Ed Howe

17. “If you want a baby, have a new one. Don’t baby the old one.” - Jessamyn West

18. “There is no finer investment for any community than putting milk into babies.” - Winston Churchill

19. “People who say they sleep like a baby usually don’t have one.” -Leo J. Burke

20. “A baby is born with a need to be loved and never outgrows it.” - Frank A. Clark

Copyright © 2005, Bridget Mwape writes for the
Baby Shop UK:
http://www.baby-shop.org.uk/ which features baby information including articles and discounts on baby products, gifts and advice from other parents.

This article may be republished as long as all the above links are active and clickable and this author box (byline) is not edited.

A baby brings joy and happiness. It also carries forward a bit of you. Perhaps the most important function a parent undertakes after the birth of a boy is to select a name for him. Most parents would like the name to be special, and mean something to their son when he grows up.

A son for many holds a special place. Since ancient times a son is seen to be the “one to carry on the family.” Naming a son can be quite emotional and often family traditions come into play—in many families sons carry into the next generation the family name, which may be centuries old.

Be practical and take up the task like modern-day parents. Buy a beautiful inspiring notebook and write down your thoughts. Would I like my son to carry forward a tradition or heritage? Would I like him to be proud of his roots? Or shall we strike out and name him something different? Weigh the pros and cons of all these options.

Call over the family or clan for an impromptu get-together and make the “name choosing” a collective effort. Glance into family legends and history. Study the family tree and how different generations were named. Find out if anyone in the family was famous or illustrious, like a poet, a painter, or writer. Is there an explorer or adventurer hidden among your ancestors? Discover a pioneer who may have sailed the ocean to bring his family to a new land. Make a list of such possibilities.

Consider carefully if you would like your son to be named after a person who has meant something to you, helped you, or done something special. Look through social security lists, literature, the World Wide Web, and books for inspiration. In case you belong to an ethnic group or culture or specific religion, and have a religious frame of mind, then look for a name in the scriptures or books that are specific to your origins and culture.

Many like naming their children after great men from history, or heroes of legend and lore. Or on attributes such as strength, intelligence, beauty, and so on. If you would like to think about this then spare the time to go to a library and do intensive research.

Once you have made a tentative list of names both of you like, you must say it out loud, whisper it softly, sing a song, and write it out. How does it co-ordinate with your last name? Check whether the initials do not sum up to be something embarrassing, like ASS. Can the name become the source of peer teasing? Will the child and his friend be able to spell or pronounce it? And is the name such that it will grow with the child? Imagine a grown woman called Pixie or a hulk of a man called Jellybeans.

Ensure that the baby’s name is strong, bold, and happy. It should reflect the qualities and traits of the boy and bring joy all around him. Choose a name that has strong gender identification. Pick a name that will stand him in good stead, and one he will be proud to be known by.

Sending an adorable baby shower invitation not only captures the attention of your guests, but it sets the stage for a wonderful party. Recently I planned a baby shower for a friend and drove to a local card store to look at my choices for shower invitations. I could not believe the extravagant cost of custom-made invitations and immediately headed home to see if I could find any free printable baby shower invitations online. I found some websites where I could create my own invitations and therefore save some of my money for the actual shower!

As I created my own free printable baby shower invitations, I found that the wording for the baby shower invitations was a little difficult and I needed to use my imagination. I started with something simple like “Hurry, Hurry! Don’t be late. Let’s celebrate with Lynn before her due date!” Then I decided it might be fun to use children’s songs or poems in the invitation: “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, How we wonder what you are” or “Hey Diddle Diddle, The Cat and the Fiddle, the cow jumped over the moon….Find a fun gift and come to my house, for Sally’s baby is coming soon!”

If you don’t like the rhyming idea, you can keep it simple by writing things like, “Come and help Katherine get ready for the big day!” Or “The baby is finally here! Let’s shower her with love.” Allow yourself to be creative and have some fun.

As you create your printable baby shower invitations, make sure that you include the following: Guest of Honor’s name, date, time, place, RSVP number and whether or not the shower is a surprise. If the mom to be is registered somewhere, you should mention that as well. You can also purchase the fill-in baby shower invitations which will help you remember most of these details. Whatever you do, make sure that your invitations are neat, appealing and clearly provide the guests with the information they will need for the baby shower.

Kelly Jezek is a successful Webmaster and publisher of mybabyshowerhelper.com. She provides more helpful tips on finding free printable baby shower invitations at her site. Visit my baby shower helper today!

Diet for the pregnant woman should be well planned so that it contains all the essential nutrients needed during pregnancy. It is not necessary to increase the amount of food you eat. The quality of your diet has to be improved, not the quantity.

The different food groups and and the number of ‘servings’ of each group that you need to eat daily is discussed here.

Food providing Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates give us the energy necessary for our life. The major sources of carbohydrates are foods like breads, rice, noodles and cereals. They also provide nutrients like Vitamin B, iron, zinc and certain trace minerals.

Requirements - Eat at least 6 servings of carbohydrates a day. A single serving is -

• 2 slices of average sized breadslices.
• ½ cup cereal.
• ½ cup of cooked rice or noodles.

Food providing Proteins: Proteins are the building blocks of the body cells. They are needed to make all the different body tissues like muscles, blood, nerves, bones and all the organs of our body. Food containing proteins also contain iron and Folic Acid. Normal requirement in a non-pregnant woman is 1 gram of protein per kg body weight per day. In pregnancy, 10 grams of extra protein should be added daily over this requirement.

Requirements : Eat at least 3 servings of protein each day. Each serving is equivalent to:

• 60 grams of lean meat like chicken or fish.
• 2 eggs.
• 1 glass of milk.
• ½ cup of low fat yogurt.
• 1 cup of cooked beans like soyabeans, lentils, peas.
• 1 cup of cottage cheese.

Milk and milk products: Milk and milk products are a rich source of calcium, protein, vitamin D, vitamin B12 and other fat soluble vitamins and minerals. Your baby needs calcium to build strong bones and teeth as well as to develop muscle, heart and nerve tissue. Cramps in the calves of the legs and pains in the long bones are signs that the calcium level in your body is low. The normal daily requirement of calcium is 1000mg in pregnancy and 1500 mg in breastfeeding mothers.

Requirements: You need at least 4 servings of milk and milk products in a day. A single serving is equivalent to:

• 200 ml of whole milk (1 average-sized glass)
• 1 cup of soyamilk
• 100 grams of cottage cheese (paneer)
• 1 cup of yogurt, custard or milk pudding.

Fruits: Fruits add taste, texture and flavour to your diet. They are also packed full of essential vitamins and minerals necessary for the baby’s growth. They also provide dietary fibre and anti-oxidants. The skin of the fruit should be retained wherever possible as it provides valuable nutrients.

Requirements:Eat at least 5 servings of fruits daily. A single serving of fruit is:

• 1 medium sized fruit like an apple, orange or banana
• 1 slice of a large sized fruit like watermelon and pineapple.
• 2 fruits if they are small sized like plums and kiwis
• 1 cup of very small sized fruits like grapes or strawberries
• ½ cup canned fruits
• ½ cup of 100 % pure fruit juice with no added sugar.

Vegetables: Vegetables, like fruits, are rich in vitamins, minerals and necessary trace elements. They add crunch, colour and flavour to your diet and provide you with fluids and fibre.

Requirements: Eat at least 4 servings of vegetables in a day. One serving is equivalent to:

• 1 cup raw or ½ cup cooked vegetables
• 1 cup vegetable juice
• 1 side plate of salad
• ½ cup of sprouts.

Fats and Oils: Although some amount of fats and oils are necessary in the diet, too much can make you overweight. Olive oil and rice bran oil are good oils that not only provide the necessary fat but also supply some amount of fat soluble vitamins and anti-oxidants.
The average daily requirement of fat in pregnancy is 35 to 40 grams. A total of 5 teaspoonfuls of oil are enough to provide this amount in a day.

Arrange your diet so that you are eating the right food in quality and quantity every day.

Visit http://www.gynaeonline.com/diet to learn more about Diet in pregnancy and other pregnancy related issues.

The author, Dr.M.D.Mazumdar is a consultant gynaecologist with more than fifteen years of experience in private practice. She runs an Online Consultation Clinic at http://www.gynaeonline.com, which carries a large number of important topics on Pregnancy and Gynaecology.