Parents exploring cleft lip and palate treatment options may have questions about their child’s eating, speaking, breathing, appearance, and future. At Little Baby Face Foundation (LBFF) , we help families understand facial differences and connect eligible children with world-class reconstructive care at no cost. The first step is submitting our confidential application for medical review.
When a parent learns that their child has a facial difference, the questions can come quickly.
What does this mean for my child? Will they be able to eat comfortably? Could this affect speaking or breathing? What kind of care might they need? And perhaps most importantly: Where can our family turn for help?
In our experience working with children and families with facial differences, we know that clear information can make an unfamiliar situation easier to navigate.
At LBFF, we transform the lives and faces of children born with facial deformities through reconstructive surgery. Our team works with children with many types of facial differences, including clefts and nasal atresia.
This guide is designed to help parents understand some of the basics and, when they are ready, take the next step toward having their child reviewed by our medical team.
What Are Clefts?
A cleft is an opening or separation that can affect areas of a child’s face, including the lip or palate.
A cleft lip affects the upper lip. A cleft palate involves an opening in the roof of the mouth. A child may have one of these differences or both.
Clefts can affect more than appearance. Depending on the child, they may also affect important functions such as eating, speaking, and breathing.
That is an important distinction for families.
At LBFF, our work is not simply about how a child looks. We approach reconstructive care with a focus on the child’s individual needs, including functional concerns when appropriate.
Every child is different, which is why information online can never replace an individual medical review.
What About Nasal Clefts and Nasal Atresia?
Nasal clefts are rare facial differences present at birth that affect the development of the nose. They can vary in appearance, from a small separation in part of the nose to differences involving nearby facial structures.
Nasal atresia involves a blockage within the nasal passage. One form, called choanal atresia, occurs when one or both openings at the back of the nasal passages are blocked, which can affect breathing.
In our experience, families may not know the exact medical name for their child’s facial difference and they do not need to have all the answers before reaching out to us. Because every child is different, our medical team reviews each child individually.
What we want families to know: You do not need to determine the right procedure or understand every medical term before asking for help.
If you are wondering whether we may be able to help your child, you can submit an application. Our medical team will review your child’s information to determine eligibility.
How Can Facial Differences Affect a Child’s Daily Life?
Parents often come to information like this because they are thinking about much more than a diagnosis.
They are thinking about everyday life.
Depending on the child’s condition, a facial difference can be connected to functions such as eating, speaking, breathing, or hearing. At LBFF, our primary focus is improving facial function, with reconstructive care centered on supporting each child’s functional needs.
For a parent, those concerns may show up as very practical questions:
- How could this difference affect eating?
- Could it affect speech?
- Is breathing involved?
- What might this mean as my child grows?
- Who can tell us what kind of care our child may need?
We have heard from families who have felt overwhelmed by medical language and treatment choices. That experience is one reason we believe education and compassionate guidance matter. Our goal is to make information understandable and help parents move from uncertainty toward a clearer next step.
A helpful place to start: You don’t need to choose a treatment before applying to LBFF. The first step is simply giving our medical team the information needed to review your child’s situation.
What Should Parents Know About Cleft Lip and Palate Treatment Options?
When families search for cleft lip and palate treatment options or information about care for nasal clefts and nasal atresia, they may find a large amount of information online. That can be helpful, but it can also become overwhelming.
In our experience, the most important thing to remember is that these facial differences can vary from child to child. Clefts may affect the lip, palate, or both. Nasal clefts affect the development and structure of the nose, while nasal atresia involves a blockage within the nasal passage. The type of care a child may need depends on their individual condition and needs.
Depending on the facial difference, care may include:
- Cleft lip: Reconstructive surgery may be used to repair the separation in the lip and improve its structure and function.
- Cleft palate: Surgery may be used to close the opening in the palate, with additional care sometimes addressing areas such as speech, feeding, or dental development.
- Nasal clefts: Reconstructive surgery may focus on the structure, shape, and function of the nose and surrounding facial areas.
- Nasal atresia: Care may involve surgery to address the nasal blockage and improve the nasal airway.
These are general examples, not recommendations for a particular child. Some children may need different or additional care based on their individual needs.
At LBFF, our team evaluates each child individually rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach. Our world-class volunteer medical professionals provide specialized reconstructive care to children who qualify.
Parents do not need to determine which procedure their child may need before contacting us. We encourage families to begin with an individual medical review through our application process.
How Does LBFF Help Families Seeking Care?
One of the biggest concerns we hear from families is access.
Specialized reconstructive care can involve far more than meeting with a surgeon. Families may face hospital expenses, anesthesia costs, travel, lodging, and other practical barriers.
We work to remove those barriers for children who are accepted for care.
LBFF provides life-changing reconstructive care at no cost to accepted families. Our world-class volunteer surgeons donate valuable time and expertise, while we help cover critical expenses connected with care, including special operating room fees, travel, and lodging.
That means families can focus on what matters most: their child.
Our Care Begins With Understanding the Child
There isn’t one path that applies to every child with a facial difference.
Some children have relatively focused needs. Others may have more complex needs that require additional evaluation or care.
That is why our process begins with medical review rather than assumptions.
Our role is to look at the child as an individual and determine whether our Foundation can provide appropriate support.
How Can Families Apply to Little Baby Face Foundation?
If you’re wondering whether we may be able to help your child, the next step is straightforward:
Apply.
Families begin by completing our confidential online application. The information provided helps our medical team review the child’s needs and determine eligibility.
You do not need to become an expert in medical terminology before contacting us. You also don’t need to decide for yourself which procedure your child needs.
We ask families to tell us about their child so our team can begin the review process.
If a child is accepted for care, LBFF works to remove critical financial barriers associated with that care, including operating room fees, anesthesia, travel, and lodging.
Your next steps:
- Learn more about our areas of expertise and the facial differences our team evaluates.
- Complete our confidential online application.
- Provide the requested information about your child.
- Allow our medical team to review the application and determine eligibility.
Submitting an application does not guarantee acceptance or a particular medical outcome. It gives our team the information needed to consider your child’s individual situation.
You Don’t Have to Have Every Answer Before You Ask for Help
For parents, searching for cleft lip and palate treatment options can be the beginning of a much larger journey.
We have learned that families often want the same fundamental things: understandable information, compassionate support, and a clear idea of what to do next.
That’s what we want to provide.
We believe every child with a facial difference deserves to be seen as a whole person—with their own strengths, personality, needs, and future. Our role is to help eligible children access world-class reconstructive care without placing the financial burden of that care on their families.
If your child has a cleft, nasal difference, nasal atresia, or another facial difference, you don’t have to determine the next medical step on your own.
Apply to Little Baby Face Foundation today.
Complete our confidential online application, and our medical team will review your child’s information to determine whether they are eligible for care.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are clefts, nasal clefts, and nasal atresia?
Clefts are facial differences that may affect the lip, palate, or both. Nasal clefts affect the development and structure of the nose, while nasal atresia involves a blockage within the nasal passage. These differences can vary from child to child and may affect appearance or functions such as eating, speaking, or breathing.
What types of care may be considered for clefts, nasal clefts, and nasal atresia?
Care depends on the child and their individual facial difference. In general, reconstructive surgery may address the lip or palate, the structure and function of the nose, or a nasal blockage. Some children may also need additional care related to areas such as speech, feeding, or dental development. An individual medical evaluation helps determine a child’s needs.
How can families find out if Little Baby Face Foundation can help their child?
Families can begin by completing our confidential online application. Our medical team reviews each child’s information to determine eligibility. If a child is accepted for care, we provide no-cost reconstructive care and cover critical expenses such as special operating room fees, travel, and lodging.
