Feeding the newborn with cleft lip and/or palate: the enlargement, stimulate, swallow, rest (ESSR) method.

The failure of newborns with cleft lip and/or cleft palate to properly gain weight remains a frustrating reality for many families regardless of the complex medical technology designed to avoid this problem. The enlargement, stimulate, swallow, suck (ESSR) feeding method was developed to easily and inexpensively reduce the occurrence of poor weight gain among these patients. Families and health care providers will benefit from adopting this method which encourages and provides successful feeding experiences for everyone involved with this group of patients that were once thought of as difficult to feed.