Association between symptomatic submucous cleft palate and otologic disease: A retrospective review.

Introduction: Submucous cleft palate (SMCP) is the most common congenital malformation of the posterior palate and characterized in part by palatal muscle diastasis. Patients with SMCP are considered symptomatic when suffering from velopharyngeal insufficiency which leads to hypernasality of speech and excess nasal air emission. SMCP results from defects in the muscles thought to be responsible for regulating the patency of the eustachian tube which can lead to a number of middle ear pathologies and ultimately hearing loss.

Maternal emotional responses to preterm birth.

Mothers of 144 preterm infants with varying degrees of neonatal illness were interviewed prior to their infants' discharge from neonatal intensive care. Their major concerns were for the infants' survival rather than their own welfare. Husbands, parents, and, for members, church were seen as the major sources of support.