A Longitudinal Study of Mothers' Concerns about Cleft Palate Children

• Published in: Journal of Japanese Cleft Palate Association Vol. 14; no. 3; pp. 333 - 342
• Main Author: ITOH, Shizuyo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: Japanese Cleft Palate Association 30.12.1989
• Subjects: Cleft palate; Counseling for mothers; Mother's concerns of cleft palate children; Psychosocial problems; 口蓋裂; 口蓋裂児の母親の関心; 心理社会的問題; 母親指導
• ISSN: 0386-5185; 2186-5701
• DOI: 10.11224/cleftpalate1976.14.3_333

The purpose of this study is to learn about the concerns of mothers regarding cleft palate children. The concern of mothers having normal children was used as the control. The subjects were 80 children having cleft palate (isolated cleft palate 43 cases and unilateral and bilateral cleft lip and palate 37 cases,3 months to 6 years old) and 163 control children (2 months to 5 years 11 months) and their mothers. The mother's concerns regarding cleft palate children and the mother's concerns of control children were investigated using a questionnaire and interviews. The surveys for mothers of cleft palate children were carried out at the time of lip repair, palatoplasty and a post-operated period of one to four years. The results were as follows: 1. Mothers of cleft palate children were mostly concerned about the nature and implications of the cleft. They differed from that of the control group. 2. In mothers of cleft palate children the main concerns of the mothers tended to vary with the age of the child and the stage of treatment and differed according to cleft type. 3. A common concern of mothers having a cleft palate child at any age was “speech”. As the child got older, those mothers were concerned about “social adjustment (especially kindergarten)”, “dental caries” and “malocclusion”. 4. In addition, mothers of children with CLP were concerned about “psychological problems” and “reoperation”. These results seem to suggest to necessity of counseling sessions with mothers of a cleft palate children and the involved professionals during the treatment period. These sessions should be designed to inform the mothers about the mental and physical development of the children as they grow older, especially the implications of the cleft after lip repair and palatoplasty and to help the mothers make mental preparation and progress for the problems of their children.