Cleft Bottles!

Thanks to the many generous donations of family and friends, we just bought the bulk box (72 bottles) of Cleft Lip/Palate Nursers from Enfamil (Mead Johnson) to bring with us to China. These bottles "are specially shaped, flexible nursers with an elongated nipple which allow controlled formula flow and assisted feedings," and we will be bringing them to the orphanage in Urumqi for the babies who were born with cleft issues.

During normal fetal development between the 6th and 11th week of pregnancy, the clefts in the lip and palate fuse together. In some babies, one or both of these splits failes to fuse, and the baby is born with a cleft lip or cleft palate.

A “cleft” means a separation, so a cleft palate or lip is a split in either the lip area or the roof of the mouth, or the child could have a cleft in both areas. Oral clefts are one of the most common birth defects, and occur in higher frequencies in Asians and Native Americans.

These bottles really save lives- babies born with cleft palates have a hard time creating the suction needed to suck out formula out of a regular bottle, and one report says only 10% will survive (rainbowkids.com). These bottles are not available in China, so orphanage workers and foster parents must take a long time feeding the babies, many times with spoons (can you imagine how hard that would be with a squirmy baby??).

I am still collecting: rubber pants, art supplies, and gently used clothing! Thank you!!