Day One: Recognizing and Communicating a Cleft at Birth
Take the reading one piece at a time. For each piece: read it once, underline the sentence that says what happens, then look up any word in the list. Tap a word to see its definition.
Piece 1 of 2
You run the same head-to-toe newborn exam on Mateo (a composite teaching case, not a real patient) and pay special attention to the lip and the roof of the mouth, writing what you find AND what you do not find. Looking at the lip: a visible gap runs through the upper lip on the LEFT side, up toward the left nostril; the right side is intact. Looking inside with a light: the palate is open in the midline and you can see up into the nasal cavity. Palpating the palate (a clean gloved finger along the roof of the mouth): the bony ridge is not continuous, so the gap is real and extends back. Checking the rest of the baby: ears, eyes, jaw size, hands, feet, heart sounds, breathing, and tone are all normal, and you find no other birth defects. You did two things, you looked and you felt, because some palate problems are easier to feel than to see.
Piece 2 of 2
Now compare two scripts for telling the family. Script A: 'Your baby has a harelip. It is a serious deformity.' Script B: 'Your baby was born with a cleft lip and palate. This is one of the most common things a baby can be born with, and there is a whole team and a clear plan to help him. He is breathing well and otherwise healthy.' Script B names the finding plainly, gives a true reassuring fact (clefts are on the order of 1 in 700 births), and points to a plan, without hiding anything.
Reading the Research
- Skim the title and abstract first to get the gist.
- Circle the one sentence that states the main claim.
- Box the evidence the authors give for that claim.
- Mark one sentence that confuses you, and move on.
Now put it together: In one or two sentences, say what this whole reading is telling you about Mateo. Then go back to the lesson and fill in the guided notes.