A local mum is using her own experience to help other parents whose baby is born with a cleft lip and Alveolus.

Charlotte Hutchinson, 35, from Tromode, has become an official parent contact on behalf of the Cleft Lip and Palate Association (CLAPA) and has organised a charity ball for the middle of March.

Charlotte and husband Mark's son Oliver was born with the condition. It meant that, very early in his life, he had to go to Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool for surgery.

Charlotte, pictured with Mark, Oliver and older son Thomas, said: 'When Oliver was born, everyone at Noble’s Hospital was very good, but we had to go away for the specialist treatment. Because it is such a rare condition, there was no specific support network for parents in the Isle of Man.

‘One in 700 children a year are born in the UK with the condition and the statistics in the Isle of Man suggest it may be two a year here. Since Oliver was born in April, I have heard of three babies born here without a palate.

‘I am just trying to raise awareness that this is happening and that the support needs to be in place. I am stepping into the role of being a parent contact, not to give the medical advice but to give the emotional support to deal with it, to direct parents to the right people to talk to.’

All tickets to the charity ball at the Hilton Hotel on March 14 have been sold but donations to raise money for CLAPA can be sent to C. E. Hutchinson at 48 Cedar Walk , Tromode, Douglas, Isle of Man IM2 5NL or visit

https://www.justgiving.com/Charlotte-Hutchinson1/

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