Our son who is due on the 19.08.2013 is going to be born with a Cleft Lip and Palate, once he is born he will face various hurdles at the beginning unlit later on in his life, he will have an operation on his lip within the first 4 months, then within the first 16 months he will have an operation to close his palate, he will have his final operation on his gums and teeth when he is 8 years old. One of the things which is common and associated with Cleft lip and palate is speech problems and hearing problems, Tommy will need speech therapy when he is younger and more than likely grommots, it's not going to be easy for him, but he will get through it. CLAPA are an amazing charity and do everything they can to help support children and adults with Cleft lip and palate, also expecting parents and parents, more information can be seen at www.CLAPA..com

When we found out about the Cleft Lip and Palate at hospital we we're then given no information, they didn't even have a leaflet and we we're sent away and told to wait 8 days for a further scan and to not look on the Internet at any information, this was very traumatising, and although it could have been much worse we we're left in complete shock and so upset, you never expect anything no matter how big or small to be wrong with your baby.

Luckily the day that this all happened we were able to get intouch with a lovely lady called Dorothy from the Cleft team at the RVI she came straight out to the house and answered all of our questions and helped put our mind at ease, Dorothy also brought our scan forward, she was like a fairy godmother, she will now be part of our lives until Tommy is about 16 years old, and its that kinda of support and knowledge that we need.

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