Abstract
The purpose of this study was to survey the opportunity and determine the reasons why mothers explain the condition of cleft lip and/or palate to their children.
We conducted semi-structured interviews from December 2016 to May 2017. The participants were 13 mothers whose children （from first to third grade of elementary school） were hospitalized and affected with cleft lip and/or palate. The participants were asked about their opportunities and reasons for explaining the condition of cleft lip and/or palate to their children. Qualitative data were analyzed using the qualitative descriptive method. The average age of the participants was 39.5 （SD 3.9） years. The mean age and SD of their children （number of boys and girls were 6 and 7, respectively） were 8.2±0.8 years. The number of cases of cleft lip and alveolus, and cleft lip and palate, were 3 and 10, respectively.
The analysis resulted in 19 codes and 4 timings. 1） Timing upon entering elementary school; for example, the child’s condition might be pointed out by a friend at school. 2） Timing of having surgery; for example, a child’s father proposed informing the condition to his child frankly before surgery. 3） Timing of when the child becomes interested or concerned about his condition; for example, a child was asked about his injury by a friend in nursery school. The child could not answer well and asked his mother about it. 4） In daily life; the mother did not want to hide the condition and thought it was time to tell her child about it. Medical care providers should assess how parents explain the condition of cleft lip and/or palate to their children, and help reduce anxiety about such explanations.
