Treatment prompts mums to hold charity ball

Buy photos » A big ‘thank you’ - Maria and Mel with little ones Martha and Dulcie. 04.012.001.strat.jg1

THE TREATMENT and support a young Stratford girl received for a cleft palate has prompted her grateful family to raise money to help others with the condition.

Maria Haslam's daughter, Martha, was born with a cleft palate last February - a problem affecting one in every 700 babies born in the UK.

And the 31-year-old was so touched by the support the family received from Birmingham Children's Hospital and the Cleft Lip and Palate Association she now wants to say thank you by arranging a fund-raising ball.

Maria is organising the 'Thank You Ball' at the Stratford Manor Hotel on July 14, with friend Melanie Cull from Warwick, whose baby Dulcie was born with the same condition - a deformity of the mouth which causes problems with feeding and other problems.

She said: "Martha’s father, Andy, and I knew very little about the condition before we were told that Martha had a cleft palate.

"It came as a total shock, and we were stunned to learn that it is actually quite common. In fact, just over 100 babies are affected by cleft lip and palate each year in the Midlands.

"Initially, we were fairly frightened. We understood so little about why this had happened, and even less about what was in store for our precious new baby.

"A specialist nurse visited hospital the following day and immediately set us at ease. She sat with us and carefully explained what would happen over the next few months."

Maria and Andy were given vital support until Martha was old enough to have corrective surgery at six months old.

Last May, Melanie Cull, also aged 31, from Warwick, had a similar experience when she and husband, Bryan, welcomed baby Dulcie to the world.

Coincidentally the new mums already knew each other through mutual friends.

Melanie said: "The level of care provided for all their patients and families is amazing, and is something both our families are incredibly grateful for.

"CLAPA also provided the all-important equipment we needed to be able to feed Martha and Dulcie as newborns.

"The girls are still a little too young to say thank you on their own, but we are only too pleased to be able to help say it for them"

All profit from the The ‘Thank You Ball’ will be donated to Birmingham Children’s Hospital and the Cleft Lip and Palate Association. The pair hope to raise more than £2,000.

Tickets for the event - which include reception drinks and canapés, three course meal and live music - cost £50 and are now available. For more information or tickets contact Maria Haslam on 07530 952069.