Abstract: Background: Cleft palate an opening in the roof of the mouth due to a failure of the palatal shelves to come fully
together from either side of the mouth and fuse during the first months of development as an embryo. The opening in the palate
causing feeding problems. Mothers of infant born with clefts have many questions and concerns, including basic information
regarding care especially feeding. The aim of the study: To assess the knowledge and practice of mothers regarding feeding of
their infant with cleft lip and cleft palate. Evaluate the effectiveness of feeding protocol on knowledge and practice of mothers
having infant with cleft lip and cleft palate. To find out the association between knowledge and practice of mothers having
infant with cleft lip and cleft palate with their selected demographic variables. Research design: A quasi- experimental design
was adopted in the current study. Sample: Convenience sample of sixty mothers having infants with cleft lip and/or palate.
Setting: was carried out in the inpatient surgical department and outpatient surgical clinic of Specialized Pediatric Hospitals at
Benha City. The tool of data collection: Tool I: A structured interviewing questionnaire consists from three parts, Part 1:
Infants ‘and mothers personal characteristics. Part (2): Evaluation of infant feeding reported from their mothers. Part (3):
Mothers’ knowledge pre/post feeding protocol. Tool II: Observational checklist of mother’s practice pre/post feeding protocol.
Results: The study results revealed that the mean age of infant was 3.8± 3.3, and more than half of mother had family history
of cleft lip and palate. Also more than half of mother use sitting position during feeding, there were statistical significant
differences between knowledge and practice of mothers post feeding protocol at P |
