Written by Rosemary Wachiye |
Webuye District Hospital will be offering free of charge operation to patients from 3 months of age and older with cleft lip and cleft palate for five days from September 8th to 12.
The operations are sponsored by the Help A Child Face Tomorrow organization in conjunction with AMREF and targets to reach out to at least a hundred patients by the end of the exercise on Sunday.
According to doctors performing the operation led by Dr. Meshack Ong’uti explained the main causes of the cleft lip and cleft palate to be malnutrition on the part of a pregnant mother during the first six weeks of the pregnancy.
“The child’s face is formed in the womb in the first six months of the pregnancy and if a mother does not feed on a balanced diet then that’s when the cleft palate and cleft lip are bound to form,” said Dr. Ong’uti.
He explained that it is a case where a child is born with basing on how the mother conducted herself during the pregnancy. He cautioned mothers from drinking and smoking during their pregnancy because they also contribute to the child being born with a cleft lip or a palate.
He added that the lack of vitamin A and folic acid in the food taken during pregnancy is the main cause of the deformed mouth.
A cleft lip patient before undergoing corrective surgery and posing for a photo with Dr. Ong'uti at the Webuye District Hospital. [Photo/Roselyn Wachiye/WestFm]
According to Dr. Ong’uti, the case mainly appears in children from poor background or children who are a product of early pregnancy by mothers at a young age who may not be aware of the condition and when they fall sick and visit the hospital they are administered medication that to common illness like malaria typhoid which affects the child’s growth in the womb.
“It’s mostly experienced in children whose mothers got pregnant at an early age and took medication that affects their growth in the womb,” said Dr.Ong’uti
“It also affects mostly people from poor background who may not have access to quality food or balanced diet during pregnancy that leads to giving birth to a child with deformed lips and mouth,” said Dr.Ong’uti.
Environmental factors are also contributing factors for the condition more so when a pregnant woman is exposed to smoke and fumes from vehicles, the doctor said.
The Medical Superintendent of Webuye District Hospital Dr.Bitta Ceaser called upon parents with children suffering from such a condition to come out and get help from the doctors as it is free of charge and the child gets a chance to live happy again.
“There are parents with children suffering from such a condition and yet they have hidden them back at home I urge them to come out to get help that is free of charge from the qualified surgeons who will be with us for five days,” said Dr. Ceaser.
“It’s an opportunity of a life time that the people from around this region should take advantage of and come get help,” said Dr. Ceaser
The Public Relations Officer the organization of the organization Mrs. Pauline Matana, stated that so far 43 patients have registered awaiting operation.
“We hope that by the end of the five days period that we will be at Webuye District Hospital the doctors will have operated on at least 100 cases,” said Mrs.Matana
Adding that those with children below three months of age but with the condition, their children will not be operated on but they will be referred to where they can get help free of charge when their children come of age.
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