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Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify infant and maternal factors associated with reduced human milk feeding among infants in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) with cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL ± P)., Method: Data collected on mothers and infants admitted to the NICU with CL ± P from the 2018 National Vital Statistics System were used for this study. Chi-square tests of independence and independent-samples t tests were used to compare categorical variables and continuous variables, respectively, among two groups of infants admitted to the NICU with CL ± P-those who did and did not receive human milk feeding at discharge., Results: The sample included 660 infants admitted to the NICU with CL ± P, of which 353 received human milk at discharge. Significant differences were found between the two groups for marital status, mother's education, maternal smoking record, total number of prenatal visits, multiparity record, gestational age, birth weight, and use of assisted ventilation., Conclusions: Results indicated that, as a function of human milk feeding at discharge, mothers and their infants admitted to the NICU with CL ± P exhibited differences across infant and maternal factors. These findings further our understanding of this sample of mothers and infants with CL ± P while potentially identifying determinants to human milk feeding. This study provides insight into infant and maternal characteristics that may be associated with barriers to human milk feeding.

Objective: Understanding the normal anatomy of velopharyngeal (VP) mechanism and the emergence of sexual dimorphism provides valuable insights into differences of VP anatomy among males and females. The purpose of this study is to examine sex differences in VP anatomy in a large data set of 3,248 9- and 10-year-old children., Method: Static three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging was used to compare five VP characteristics including velar length, velar thickness, effective velar length, levator veli palatini muscle length, and pharyngeal depth between age-matched males ( n = 1,670) and females ( n = 1,578). Additionally, these dimensions were used to determine the VP ratio and effective VP ratio., Results: Males showed significantly larger dimensions for all VP distances and significantly lower ratios of velar length and effective velar length to pharyngeal depth ( p < .05). The magnitude of these effect sizes was small to medium, with Cohen's d values ranging from 0.12 to 0.63. Additionally, the VP ratio and effective VP ratio are lower among males compared to females ( p < .05)., Conclusions: Results suggest the presence of sexual dimorphism in the VP mechanism among 9- and 10-year-old children. These findings emphasize the necessity of using different normative data for males and females when making comparisons to patients with cleft palate.