Shadowing Practice: Cleft Lip & Cleft Palate: Pediatrics - Alterations in Health | @LevelUpRN - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Hi, I'm Cathy with Level Up RN. In this video, I will be discussing cleft lip and cleft palate. And at the end of the video, I'm going to give you guys a little quiz to test your knowledge of some of the key points I'll be covering. So definitely stay tuned for that. And if you have our Level Up RN pediatric nursing flashcards, go ahead and pull out your flashcards on cleft lip and cleft palate and follow along with me.
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Cleft lip is a birth defect characterized by incomplete formation of the lip. And cleft palate is where we have incomplete formation of the palate, which is the roof of the mouth.
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Some children are born with both cleft lip and cleft palate. Risk factors that make it more likely that a baby will develop cleft lip and/or cleft palate include smoking, gestational diabetes, the use of certain medications, and a lack of folate during pregnancy.
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In terms of signs and symptoms, a baby with cleft lip will have an opening in their upper lip, which will vary in size. It may be a small slit, or it may be a large opening into the nose.
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A baby with cleft palate will have an opening in part or all of their palate, which, again, is the roof of their mouth. Both of these conditions can be diagnosed with a prenatal ultrasound or with visual inspection of the oral cavity at birth. Treatment includes surgical repair.
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Cleft lip is typically repaired when the baby is between 3 and 5 months of age, and cleft palate is typically repaired a little later, such as when the baby is between 9 and 12 months of age.
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There are complications associated with cleft lip and/or cleft palate, such as feeding, hearing, speech, and dental issues. So as the nurse, you want to provide appropriate referrals to help manage these complications. You also want to provide important teaching on how to best feed a baby with cleft lip and/or cleft palate. For a baby with cleft lip who is bottle-fed, a bottle with a nipple that has a wide base is typically recommended. And then squeezing the baby's cheeks together during feeding can help with getting a good lip seal.
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For a baby with cleft palate, you want to position the baby in an upright position and then a bottle that has a one-way flow valve and a specialty nipple that increases the flow of liquid is typically recommended. And then because babies with cleft palate often swallow a lot of air during feedings, it's important to burp the baby frequently when providing a feeding. After a baby has surgical repair of cleft lip or cleft palate, special precautions need to be taken to protect the operative site. So petroleum jelly should be used along the suture line in order to keep the area moist and to promote wound healing. Elbow immobilizers are typically used to prevent the baby from touching and damaging the operative site. And then pacifiers should be avoided, and feeding the baby with a syringe or dropper may be recommended because sucking, which makes the baby's mouth go like this, can disrupt the suture line.
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All right. It's quiz time, and I've got three questions for you.
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Question number 1, when feeding a baby with cleft lip, how can you improve their lip seal?
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The answer is you can squeeze their cheeks together during feeding.
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Question number 2, why are elbow immobilizers used after surgery to repair cleft lip or cleft palate?
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The answer is to prevent the baby from touching and damaging the operative site.
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Question number 3, the use of a pacifier is recommended after surgery to repair cleft lip or cleft palate, true or false? The answer is false because sucking can disrupt the suture line.
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All right. That is it for this video. I hope you found it to be helpful. Take care and good luck with studying. And then a bottle with a one-way flow valve and a specialty nipple.
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I invite you to subscribe to our channel and share a link with your classmates and friends in nursing school. If you found value in this video, be sure and hit the like button, and leave a comment and let us know what you found particularly helpful
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This C1 speaking lesson is built on the video “Cleft Lip & Cleft Palate: Pediatrics - Alterations in Health”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: cleft, lip, palate, baby, feeding. This video has 16 sentences and 723 words to shadow. The speech runs for 5:02. The speaker talks at a steady 144 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. Only 72% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding. 3 of its 16 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| cleave verb | /ˈkliːv/ | To split or sever something with, or as if with, a sharp instrument. |
| palate noun | /ˈpæl.ət/ | A part associated with the mouth of certain invertebrates, somewhat analogous to the palate of vertebrates. |
| nipple noun | /ˈnɪp.əl/ | The projection of a mammary gland from which, on female therian mammals, milk is secreted. |
| suture noun | /ˈsu.t͡ʃɚ/ | A seam formed by sewing two edges together, especially to join pieces of skin in surgically treating a wound. |
| operative adjective | /ˈɑpəɹətɪv/ | Effectual or important. |
| complication noun | /ˌkɑm.pləˈkeɪ.ʃən/ | The act or process of complicating. |
| flashcard noun | /ˈflæʃˌkɑɹd/ | A card used to aid rote memorization. One side of the card contains data of one kind, or a question, and the other side contains the associated response which… |
| pacifier noun | /ˈpæsɪfaɪɚ/ | Someone or something that pacifies. |
| disrupt verb | /dɪsˈɹʌpt/ | To throw into confusion or disorder. |
| quiz noun | /kwɪz/ | A competition in the answering of questions. |
| elbow noun | /ˈɛlboʊ̯/ | The joint between the upper arm and the forearm. |
| incomplete adjective | /ɪn.kəmˈpliːt/ | Not complete; not finished. |
| specialty noun | /ˈspɛʃ.əl.ti/ | That in which one specializes; a chosen expertise or talent; bailiwick. |
| squeeze verb | /skwiːz/ | To apply pressure (to something) from two or more sides at once. |
| cheek noun | /t͡ʃiːk/ | The soft skin on each side of the face, below the eyes; the outer surface of the sides of the oral cavity. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| go ahead verb | /ˌɡoʊ əˈhɛd/ | To proceed with; to begin. |
| pull out verb | To withdraw; especially of military forces; to retreat. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | are born · can be diagnosed · be taken |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | palate, which is · lip, which will · sucking, which makes |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 4 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, I'll, I've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: complication /ˌkɑm.pləˈkeɪ.ʃən/, flashcard /ˈflæʃˌkɑɹd/, specialty /ˈspɛʃ.əl.ti/, precaution /pɹiːˈkɔ.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: operative /ˈɑpəɹətɪv/, complication /ˌkɑm.pləˈkeɪ.ʃən/, characterize /ˈkɛɹəktəɹaɪz/, pediatric /ˌpiːdiːˈætrɪk/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like cleave, palate, nipple.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.