Impaired weight gain in cleft palate infants.

The weight records for the first six months of life of 37 infants with cleft palates were reviewed in an effort to quantitate their early feeding difficulties. None of the families had had special feeding training until problems were well established. The median birth weight (plotted against standard curves) was at the 30th percentile. At the end of one and two months of age, the median weight ranking had fallen to the 20th percentile, and did not recover to birth levels (30th percentile) until the sixth month. This information is useful in counseling families of cleft children and in introducing special feeding instruction as soon as possible after birth.