Thank you for visiting my JustGiving page.  This week (7th May to 15th May 2022) is Cleft Lip and Palate Awareness Week.  My daughter and I are walking the stretch of the Itchen River that runs from Winchester to Southampton, which is about 12 miles, to raise awareness of those born with a cleft.

My daughter, Sophie, was born with a cleft lip and palate in 2008.  To date she has had 4 operations and heaps of other intervention to help with with eating, breathing, speaking, hearing and confidence.

We are raising money for the Cleft Lip and Palate Association (CLAPA) who work to support, connect and empower everyone affected by cleft in the United Kingdom.  They have provided a lot of support for Sophie.

What is Cleft Lip and Palate?
In early pregnancy, different parts of the face form and then join together in the middle. Most people have a little dip above their top lip where this happened.
For one in every 700 pregnancies, this doesn’t happen quite as it should. The result is a gap or ‘cleft’. This cleft can be in the top lip (cleft lip), the roof of the mouth (cleft palate), or both.
There’s no single cause. Usually, it’s a mix of lots of different factors which can’t be predicted or prevented.
It’s no one’s ‘fault’ – a cleft can happen in any pregnancy, even if there’s no family history.
Around 100 babies are born with a cleft every month in the UK.