The first step towards recovery is KNOWLEDGE.
Parents may reject their infant by trying to hide her or even abandoning her to others’ care believing their child is cursed. Parents may not understand why their child has a cleft. Strong traditional beliefs and lack of education lead some parents to think the baby is being punished for their own misdeeds. Such beliefs may cause overwhelming stress, guilt, and shame, and thus impair the parents’ ability to react properly. Parents sometimes deny the seriousness of an open cleft. Other parents panic and reject their cleft infant completely. Parents at times do not come to the surgery, even when the cost is paid by charitable organisations, because the situation is just too overwhelming.
Cleft Care Foundation Indonesia gives parents confidence and knowledge so they can care for their babies. Caring for a cleft baby is a difficult and sometimes tiring journey through many trials and errors. Solutions that work for one mother do not necessarily work for another: one child can eat from a spoon but another one cannot; one mother knows someone with experience, another mother knows no one who can help; one family can pay for a plastic palate while others cannot pay for transportation to the hospital… We provide all parents with reliable information and guidance in caring for their babies, overcoming these challenges and doing what is best for their child.