STUDY: Prenatal Diagnosis of Orofacial Clefts

January 5, 2014

Prenatal Diagnosis of Orofacial Clefts: Association With Maternal Satisfaction, Team Care, and Treatment Outcomes

Robbins JM, Damiano P, Druschel CM, Hobbs CA, Romitti PA, Austin AA, Tyler M, Reading JA, Burnett W.

The Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal, 2010. Volume 47, pages 476-481.

Why was the research done?

The main aim of the study was to find out if there is a link between the timing of a diagnosis, how the mothers felt about the information they received and how satisfied they were with the services .

What did the researchers do?

They interviewed 235 mothers of children between 2 and 7 years of age , 46 of whom had had a prenatal diagnosis and 116 of whom had had a diagnosis at birth. A survey- interview was used to do this which the research team developed. This included questions about how the mothers felt about their children’s speech, treatment provided, appearance issues and satisfaction with the information provided by the teams

What did the researchers find?

The researchers found that there were no differences between those mothers who had received a prenatal diagnosis and those that had received a diagnosis at birth.

What difference does this research make?

Contrary to some other research, overall these results indicate that having a prenatal diagnosis is not necessarily helpful or advantageous. However, prenatal diagnoses did benefit mothers in dealing with feeding issues at birth, possibly because they were better prepared in asking for help.