I was 20 weeks pregnant when the ultrasound tech said that my baby had a cleft. I was devastated. I spent the rest of the pregnancy in countless appointments making sure her heart, her brain and her organs were all normal. I didn’t know anything about clefts and ACPA has helped me so much in learning about clefts during my pregnancy.

I spent the pregnancy in sadness thinking that this cleft would impact my daughter in a negative way, that her life would somehow be more painful and more challenging. Charlotte was born on June 9th and proved me so wrong.

Charlotte is a light in this world and brings joy to everyone she meets. She is just like any other newborn- snuggly, sleepy and so sweet. Her cleft lip surgery is in two months, and I will miss the face that we fell in love with. She is the missing piece to our family and her sister couldn’t love her more.

Charlotte is going to change the world. She is #cleftstrong.

-Clarissa