SAN ANTONIO – When she was 20 weeks pregnant, soon-to-be first-time mother Gloria Madera heard the words no mother wants to hear, “something is wrong with your baby.”
“Hearing anything is wrong with your child can be devastating,” Madera said.
Madera’s son, Archie, was going to be born with a cleft lip.
When Archie was born, doctors confirmed he had a cleft lip along with a cleft palate.
According to the CDC, cleft-affected babies are born more often than you may think.
- About 1 in every 1,600 babies is born with cleft lip with cleft palate in the United States.
- About 1 in every 2,800 babies is born with cleft lip without cleft palate in the United States.
- About 1 in every 1,700 babies is born with cleft palate in the United States.
Madera hopes people will take the time to learn about cleft lips and palates.
“The world can be kind of a mean place sometimes, especially with kids. Exposing your own children to differences of people can really help open their eyes,” said Madera.
For Archie’s journey, he has had three surgeries so far.
At six months old, he had his cleft lip repaired. At 10 months old, he had his cleft palate repaired. He also had tubes put in his ears, as many cleft-affected kids tend to have speech and hearing issues.
“Raising awareness helps other moms who might find themselves in the position where they’re also finding out at their 20-week anatomy scan that they may have a cleft-affected child,” Madera said.