The heart behind Cleft Glow

Being born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate, I've had seven surgeries between birth and age 21. There was no family history of cleft in my family. Growing up, I often wondered “why me?”.  It felt unfair to go through painful surgeries, teasing, and being treated differently because of something I had no control over.

When I was expecting my first child I learned at our 20-week ultrasound that my baby would also be born with a cleft lip and palate. And just like that, I began another cleft journey—this time, as a mom.

After processing the distressing emotions of knowing what my son was about to face, something shifted in me. It was a combination of my own cleft experience, my training as a therapist, and my deep maternal instinct to protect and empower him that sparked a significant turning point.

I became determined to make his cleft journey as uplifting and empowering as possible. 

Receiving a cleft diagnosis is not just a medical experience — it’s an emotional one. You might feel shock, fear, guilt, profound sadness, grief, or a deep sense of loss. 

As postpartum begins, new layers can unfold — postpartum anxiety, sleepless nights, feeding challenges, mourning the loss of breastfeeding, fear, worry about upcoming surgeries, and coping with your baby’s smile changing.

 You may also carry quiet fears about social stigma, judgment, or how others  respond to your baby’s appearance.

I know how isolating and unseen this side of the journey can feel — because I’ve lived it too. Having the wisdom from my own cleft journey, both as a mom and a mental health professional, I created Cleft Glow to fill the gap in emotional care and provide compassionate, specialized support for expecting and new parents navigating a cleft diagnosis during pregnancy, postpartum, and beyond.