Oxfordshire mum to create support group for parents of children with cleft lip or palate
Katie Manning wants to create a space where local parents can share experiences
An Oxfordshire mum is hoping to bring together parents of children born with cleft lip or palate through a new local support network.
Katie Manning, an artist and trauma-informed coach who lives just outside Witney, is suggesting face-to-face meet-ups, coffee mornings and workshops for parents in the county.
Katie's daughter was born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate, while her husband was born with a unilateral cleft lip and palate.
She has spent several years working with families in the cleft community and recently returned from a tour of 12 locations across the United States, where she ran art and trauma workshops.
Katie said: “I’ve provided online support, but what I’ve not yet done is provide in-person support around where we live.
“After coming back from America and seeing how incredible it is when people get inside a room together when they have shared experience, and how we can create social safety in that way, it just feels like the next step for me.
“To bring it closer to home just feels really special and appropriate.”
As part of her work, Katie has created 100 portraits of people born with cleft lip and palate.
Her US tour was presented with the support of the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association and included events and workshops designed to bring families together.
She says the experience demonstrated the importance of meeting others who have been through similar circumstances.
“When you are navigating something which sets you apart from most of the population, it can feel quite lonely,” she said.
“It can be a journey which can shine more light on things like worrying about how our child is going to feed, worrying about how they will feel about themselves and whether they'll experience being bullied.”
Katie hopes the Oxfordshire group will give parents an opportunity to feel supported and learn from one another.
“I want to create a space where other parents can feel connected and seen, and together we learn more and we get to show up as our best versions of ourselves really for our kids,” she said.
Katie also wants to encourage conversations about the emotional impact a diagnosis can have on parents.
She believes experiences during pregnancy and following a diagnosis can influence how some parents subsequently approach parenting, including potentially becoming more anxious or protective.
However, she emphasised that every family’s experience is different.
“If we want to raise self-confident, truly connected, empowered people born with a cleft lip and/or palate, then the parents have to go first,” she said.