PREMIUM! A closeup of the lips of baby with lip and palate cleft before and after surgery. PIcture: iStock It is said first impressions are formed in microseconds and for parents to be handed their newborn child with a cleft lip or palate is a shock which never truly goes away. Fortunately, in modern times, parents are not alone any more, with support groups a vital lifeline for parents and peers of children with cleft lips and palates. When Jacky Engela gave birth to her baby boy at Dora Nginza Hospital in Gqeberha, formerly Port Elizabeth, she had no idea that he was going to be born with a cleft lip and palate. “The moment Jacky saw her baby...