JPH0134623B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a nipple for feeding bottles for infants with cleft lip and palate, which has been on the rise in recent years.

There are various degrees of mild cleft lip and palate, from partial cleft to complete cleft of the upper jaw (palate). If you breastfeed with a bottle nipple, your baby will have difficulty sucking because of cleft disease, which will prevent him from sucking properly from the nipple. In order to be able to suture the cleft part, it is not possible until the baby weighs 6 kg or more, and a normal infant weighs 6 kg at around 3 to 4 months old.
kg, but in the case of children with cleft lip and palate, it may take up to 6 months. This is apparently due to the fact that it is not absorbed well. In short, with nipples designed for normal babies, air leaks and it is not possible to create negative pressure in the oral cavity, making it difficult to swallow food and drink, so this gap needs to be sufficiently filled to allow milk to reach the throat. There is. Therefore, in order to solve this problem, we made the diameter of the nipple of the nipple a little thicker, changed the thickness of the rubber, and made a part of it flat, so that the flat part closes the gap and the tip of the tongue can close the nipple. We have developed a nipple structure that makes it easier to squeeze and swallow milk.

The nipple according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 is an external perspective view showing the entire nipple A of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is an end view of only the nipple 1 in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is also a longitudinal cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the nipple of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a milk flow rate control valve installed inside the nipple A of the present invention, that is, the nipple of FIGS. 2 and 4, and FIG. The plan view and Figure B are cross-sectional views taken along line aa in Figure A. 6th
The figure is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which the flow control valve of FIG. 5 is attached inside the nipple A. FIG. 7 shows a cleft lip and palate infant breastfeeding with the nipple A of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is also a front view of the breastfeeding state.

First, the nipple A of the present invention shown in FIG.
It is composed of a flange 5, a rib 6, and an air valve 1. The diameter of nipple 1 is 15 mm to 16 mm, which is thicker than the nipple for normal infants (around 13 mm). As shown in the cross-sectional view of the papilla 1 in Fig. 3, the flat part 2 is connected with a straight line that is approximately 1/4 of the circumference of the papilla 1 without making it the circumference, and the resulting flat part 2 is connected to the upper part of the mouth. It is located at the fissure part 15 of. The thickness of the rubber on the nipple is usually about 1.2 mm to 1.3 mm for nipples for normal infants, but in the case of the present invention, the thickness of the flat part 2 of the nipple 1 is 1.5 mm to 1.8 mm. The papilla facing the flat part is 1.0
Make it as thin as mm to 0.8mm. In other words, the nipple is thick, soft, and easy to swallow. In Figure 4, the nipple 1 slightly above the trunk 4 facing the flat part in Figure 2 is recessed inward, and the tip of the tongue 16 is placed in the recess 8. The nipple 1 is squeezed with the tip 16 of the tongue to make it easier to swallow milk. Also the fifth
Figure a in the figure is a plan view showing the milk production control valve B, and figure b is a longitudinal cross-sectional view taken along the aa line in figure a, with a height of approximately 8 mm.
A ring 1 with a 2 to 3 mm hollow hole along the circumference at 1/2 of the outer circumference on a short flat cylinder 11 of about 1 cm.
0 so that it fits with the convex ring 9 inside the nipple. In addition, the center of the short flat cylinder 11 is set to 1/1 of the diameter.
A valve 14 having a protruding cavity 12 with a width of about 3 mm and a valve port 13 as shown in the figure is positioned above the cavity 11 in the shape of an inverted funnel. The valve opening 13 may be a round hole, a cross cut, a triple cut, etc., but it is not specified, but it should not be larger than the breast hole 3 at the top of the nipple tip 3. FIG. 6 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the flow control valve B shown in FIG. 5 installed inside the nipple A.

Since the nipple A of the present invention has extremely high airtightness,
Once placed in the mouth, milk will be drawn from the bottle into the mouth depending on the infant's suction force, so this flow control valve is recommended for disabled children who find it difficult to adjust the flow rate in their own mouth. By attaching B, you can always control the appropriate amount of suction. Of course, this flow rate control valve B does not have to be installed if it is not necessary.

Next, regarding how to use this nipple A and its effects, when using the nipple shown in Figure 4, first attach the flow rate regulating valve B shown in Figure 5 inside the nipple A,
Place this nipple over the baby bottle, and flat part 2
If you put it in your mouth with it facing up, the flat part 2 and the fissure part 15
, place the tip of the tongue 16 against the depression 8, and suck while squeezing the papilla 2 with the tip of the tongue 16 (as shown in Figure 7). Normal, healthy infants only curl the tip of their tongue around the nipple to create negative pressure at the back of the throat, but infants with cleft lip and palate push up the base of their tongue to release the nipple, and the use of the base of the tongue makes it difficult to pronounce words. However, when the nipple A of the present invention is used, it is possible to achieve the same effect as in the suction state of a normal infant. This is because with conventional nipples, it is impossible to drink due to impaired sucking ability, and because the inside of the mouth is wide due to clefts, the nipple is small, causing the baby to flop in the mouth. Therefore, in the nipple A of the present invention, the diameter of the nipple 2 is increased to make it flat so that it does not enter the cleft area at all. In other words, as shown in FIG.
5 has a flat shape that does not cause further damage to the tongue, and the thickness of the rubber on the nipple on the side that corresponds to the tongue and tip of the tongue is made thinner, allowing for better tongue movement. In the past, it took 40 to 60 minutes to drink milk from a baby nipple, but with the nipple A of the present invention, we succeeded in shortening the time to just 10 to 20 minutes, eliminating nutritional deficiencies caused by the fatigue caused by breastfeeding. At the same time, by being able to perform such normal sucking movements, the comprehensive coordination of the lips, tongue, soft palate, and cheeks was promoted, allowing the baby to acquire pronunciation and a sense of pronunciation, and to enable functional development.

Currently, the birth rate of children with cleft lip and palate is 1/400 in Japan.
The rate of increase is 1/700 people in the United States, 1/1000 people in the Philippines, and 1/600 to 800 people in Europe. Cleft lip is a cleft of the upper lip only, and cleft palate is a cleft of the entire upper jaw, including cleft of the soft palate (cleft of the throat), cleft of the hard palate (cleft of the upper jaw), and complete cleft (lip, upper jaw, gums, and even the throat). There are even children with severe injuries up to (cleft). As mentioned above, the common problems for these infants are that they lack the ability to suck because there is no negative pressure in the oral cavity, and because nutrients are injected through the nasal cavity, they forget to chew and swallow, and their functions develop. It disappears. Also, speech impediment (nasal),
Hearing is also adversely affected due to misaligned teeth and underdevelopment of the face (jaw, lips, nose). By having these infants use the nipple A of the present invention,
My breasts have become easier to swallow. This eliminates malnutrition, allows the muscles and bones to develop in the same way as a normal child, and the mouth and lips are sutured at 4 to 5 months, the back of the throat is sutured by 1 to 2 years of age, and the roof of the mouth is sutured at 2 to 3 years of age. In this order, cleft lip and palate suturing surgery is performed by the age of 2 or 3, followed by correction of the alignment of the teeth at the age of 12 or 13 to complete the treatment.

As mentioned above, the nipple A of the present invention can be immediately applied to infants with small sucking ability, such as premature infants, whose birth rate is high in recent years, and has achieved excellent effects. In particular, it enables functional development during infancy, which eliminates mental disorders and provides great relief to children with cleft lip and palate.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing the entire nipple A of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of FIG. 1, and FIG.
It is an end view of only the nipple part 1. FIG. 4 is also a longitudinal cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the nipple of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a milk flow rate control valve installed in the nipple A of the present invention, that is, the nipple A of FIGS. 2 and 4, and FIG. Figure B is a plan view, and Figure B is a sectional view taken along line aa in Figure A. FIG. 6 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the flow control valve of FIG. 5 installed in the nipple A. Fig. 7 shows a cleft lip and palate infant being breast-fed using the nipple A of the present invention, and Fig. 8 is also a front view of the breast-feeding state. A... Nipple of the present invention, 1... Nipple, 2... Flat part, 3... Nipple tip, 3'... Breast hole, 4... Trunk, 5... Flange, 6... Rib, 7 ... Air valve, 8 ... Hollow, 9 ... Convex ring, 10 ... Concave ring, 11 ... Cylinder, 12 ... Cavity, 13 ... Valve hole, 14 ... Valve, 15 ... Cleft part , 16...tip of tongue, 17...nipple for normal infants.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In a nipple made of an elastic material such as rubber or plastic, the diameter of the nipple of the nipple is approximately 1 mm to 3 mm larger than the diameter of the nipple of a nipple for a normal infant (approximately 13 mm). A nipple for infants with cleft lip and palate, characterized in that the nipple is enlarged and partially flattened in the vertical direction. 2. For nipples made of elastic materials such as rubber or plastic, the diameter of the nipple of the nipple is approximately 1 mm to 3 mm larger than the diameter of the nipple of a nipple for a normal infant (approximately 13 mm), and this nipple is is partially flattened in the vertical direction, and the lower part of the nipple on the side corresponding to this flattened part is moved inward to the nipple (toward the flattened part).
A nipple for infants with cleft lip and palate, which is characterized by a slightly concave face. 3. For nipples made of elastic materials such as rubber or plastic, the diameter of the nipple of the nipple is approximately 1 mm to 3 mm larger than the diameter of the nipple of a nipple for a normal infant (approximately 13 mm), and this nipple is The inside of the nipple is partially flattened in the vertical direction, or the nipple is partially flattened in the vertical direction and the lower part of the nipple on the side corresponding to this flattened part is directed inward (toward the flattened part). A milk flow control valve, which has a thin inverted funnel-shaped valve plate above the cavity inside a short, flat cylinder with a thickened outer periphery, can now be fitted into the inside of the nipple, which was once slightly recessed, using a concave-convex ring. A nipple for infants with cleft lip and palate. 4. For nipples made of elastic materials such as rubber or plastic, the diameter of the nipple of the nipple is approximately 1 mm to 3 mm larger than the diameter of the nipple of a nipple for a normal infant (approximately 13 mm), and this nipple is The inside of the nipple is partially flattened in the vertical direction, or the nipple is partially flattened in the vertical direction, and the lower part of the nipple on the side corresponding to this flattened part is directed inward (toward the flattened part). A milk flow control valve, which had an inverted funnel-shaped thin valve plate above the cavity inside a short, flat cylinder with a thickened outer periphery, was fitted into the inside of the nipple, which had once been slightly recessed, with a concave-convex ring. In addition, an air valve with a two-stage small hole is bored in the flange of the nipple, and the outer diameter of the air valve is larger than the inner diameter. In addition, the inside of the tip of the nipple is made into a thick part near the center, the center of this thick part is bored in a dome shape, the tip of the nipple is made thin, and a cut is made in this thin part to form a sucking hole. A nipple for infants with cleft lip and palate.