Congenital defects of the maxillofacial region include cleft lip and cleft palate. Malnutrition is
among the biggest obstacles faced by people with cleft lip and palate. Aim: The aim of the study was to evaluate the
effect of implementing cleft lip and cleft palate guidance protocol on mothers' feeding practices. Method: A quasi-
experimental design was used. The study was conducted in the pediatric surgical department and pediatric surgical
outpatient clinic at Mansoura University Children's Hospital affiliated to Mansoura University. A purposive sample of 27
infants with cleft lip and cleft palate and their mothers who were admitted through 2 months during the period from the
beginning of March to the end of April, 2022. Two tools were used; first tool: A structured interview questionnaire
(Characteristics of mothers, characteristics of infants, Infants' Feeding criteria as reported by mothers, mothers'
knowledge about cleft lip & cleft palate); second tool: an observational checklist for mothers' feeding practice. Results:
Eighty-one percent of mothers lack adequate knowledge of pre-feeding protocol compared to only about one-fifth of
them after feeding, and seventy percent of mothers lack proficiency in pre-artificial feeding protocol compared to only
twenty percent of them after feeding guidance—a statistically significant difference. Conclusion and
Recommendations: This study concluded that implementation of the cleft lip and cleft palate guidance protocol had a
positive effect on mothers' feeding practices. Further research should be conducted to help mothers overcome feeding
problems in infants with cleft lip and palate