Cleft Info

Some of you (friends/family) have been asking about the NAM device and the type of bottle I'll use. This is a picture of a little boy with his NAM in and all taped to his face.



Also is a picture of the haberman bottle (that costs about $25 each!!) and a brief description of how it is helpful.



In cases of severe feeding problems, the Haberman Feeder offers an alternative to spoons, enlarged and /or extra holes in bottle nipples, and nasogastric tubes. It is so effective and easy to use that it can change feeding sessions from difficult or traumatic experience into a pleasurable activity for health care professionals, parents and babies. Special design features make the Haberman Feeder uniquely responsive to the baby’s nursing efforts. The slit-valve in the teat regulates milk flow from zero to maximum, depending on it’s orientation in the baby’s mouth. As milk is drawn out of the teat by even the slightest action of the baby’s tongue and gums, air enters the bottle at the same rate through an inlet groove in the disc. Consequently, there is no turbulence. Milk flows in only one direction - from bottle to teat. The reservoir always remains full, and none of the baby’s effort is wasted.

If the baby cannot nurse at all, or needs a little help, the health care professional or mother can squeeze and release a limited amount of milk - 1.25 ml (about ¼ teaspoon) - from the reservoir into the baby’s mouth.