Greetings All,
In a recent case, I had a baby with a long channel like bubble palate. I
was talking to the father of the baby about this. The father of the baby
stated that he had a young SISTER who had a severe cleft palate and
syndrome and died shortly after her birth. He had me look again into his
infant's mouth to make sure there was no hidden clefts.
I wonder if this was a "near miss".

Barbara Wilson-Clay wrote:

It is my opinion that bubble palates are (at least in part) caused by the
failure of the tongue to shape and spread the palate in utero.  Tongue-tie
(where the tongue is anchored to the floor of the mouth and can't reach to
spread the palate) is one possibile cause.  I usually see bubble or high
arched palate with ankyloglossia.  Hypotonia of the tongue may be another
reason.  Breech position where the baby is wedged in a position which keeps
the tongue down might also be implicated in palatal malformation.  There are
also a LOT of syndromic conditions that affect palatal development.  I think
clefts (of which these unusual palates may be 'near misses') are associated
with close to 300 genetic syndromes. Perhaps the poor feeding ability often
associated with these palate shapes is more related to the underlying
syndrome -- some of which may be subtle or not diagnosed until the child is
older.

Thank you Barbara for your insight.
Star Siegfried RN,BA,IBCLC

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