Kan Kaung is making tremendous strides, thanks to the loving care of his mom and the support of our partner.
In low-income contexts where specialized care is scarce, how do you support a baby who is unable to breastfeed as a result of their cleft?
This is a major concern in Myanmar, where our partner regularly meets babies who are malnourished and underweight. Families are often discouraged by neighbours, and even ill-informed local health workers, who remark that “there is no purpose for such a child.”
What’s more – without proper nutrition, a baby cannot have a safe, timely cleft repair surgery. This affects all other areas of their rehabilitation as they grow up.
Kan Kaung was the very first patient to benefit from a new feeding support program in Myanmar. Our local partner, NWDF first met him in 2015, several weeks after he was born with a cleft and a syndrome that caused many health complications. He was severely malnourished (weighing only 2 kg). His mother tried anything and everything to get her baby to successfully breastfeed, to no avail.
Our partners had the heartbreaking fear that Kan Kaung might not survive.
Thankfully, Kan Kaung and his mom were tenacious, and the local cleft team rallied to get this family the support they needed. From supplementary food and special bottles, to regular social worker visits, Kan Kaung was finally healthy enough to receive his initial cleft repair surgery by his third birthday. To everyone’s enormous relief, the surgery was a success!
Today, this smiley pre-schooler weighs 11 kg and is growing into a thriving, healthy boy! His journey to full rehabilitation will be long, but his mom reports that “everyone is so happy with Kan Kaung’s new, bright smile!” She is filled with hope for her son’s future, knowing that he will have access to the full circle of care he needs in the years to come.