Fig. 123.—Cleft palate nipple. (Brophy.)
Fig. 124.—The device for feeding the child with cleft palate at the breast. (Brophy.)
Treatment consists in folding up the skin of the abdomen so that the groove will be over the umbilicus and include it. Then adhesive tape is put on to hold it. The surfaces of skin thus coming in contact should be dusted with rice powder or stearate of zinc. Another method of treatment is to place a wooden button form, round side down, on cotton, over the opening, and bind it on with a zinc adhesive plaster. The dressing should be changed at least once a week.
Inguinal hernia usually heals spontaneously also, but a truss may be required.
Fig. 125.—Device for assisting the cleft palate child to nurse. (Brophy.)
Hæmorrhage of the newborn is either accidental or spontaneous. Accidental hæmorrhage may arise from an imperfectly tied cord, or it may be an effusion, through compression or rupture, into any of the internal organs, such as the brain, lungs, or abdominal viscera. These latter conditions rarely give rise to symptoms, and are seldom recognized during life. There is no treatment.
The intracranial hæmorrhages are open to diagnosis through the presence of pressure symptoms, but these, too, are impervious to treatment unless a vessel can be tied, like the middle meningeal artery.