Samantha Hanratty is preparing for a “different journey” than she expected with her first child. The Yellowjackets star shared that her son will be born with a cleft lip and/or cleft palate in a TikTok yesterday, telling fans it was a “shocking” realization.
“It doesn’t run in my family. It doesn’t run in my husband’s family,” said Hanratty, who is married to post-production assistant Christian DeAnda. “The biggest thing that we all want is we want our kids to be happy and we want our kids to be healthy, and finding out that so soon in our son’s life he’s going to be getting surgeries done… it’s still scary to think that your precious little baby is going to be going under anesthesia and that there’s gonna be difficulties.”
A cleft lip occurs when the tissue of a baby’s upper lip doesn’t join together completely prior to birth, leaving an opening or cleft, according to the CDC. Similarly, a cleft palate happens when the tissue of the palate (the roof of your mouth) doesn’t join together before birth. About 1 in 1,050 babies in the US is born with cleft lip, either with or without cleft palate, and the conditions can be diagnosed during pregnancy via routine ultrasounds — which is presumably how Hanratty received the diagnosis.
Cleft lip and cleft palate can both be treated via surgery, which is recommended within the first 12 to 18 months of birth, and Hanratty said she has already met with specialists. “I’m very, very excited that we’re in such beautiful, wonderful hands,” the star said in the TikTok.
Still, Hanratty was honest about how the news affected her. “I’m already preparing for the fact that I will not be able to nurse,” said the expecting mom, adding that she plans to pump and use formula. According to the Cleft Lip and Palate Association, infants with cleft lip may be able to breastfeed, but might have difficulties forming a seal between the breast and lip. Hanratty added that she’s “praying” her son is born with only cleft lip, as cleft palate requires more surgeries and “more difficulties when it comes to closing things up… but we’re prepared for either way.”
“It’s been emotional,” Hanratty admitted, “but I think that both me and my husband are at peace with the fact that we know he’s going to be OK.” The actress added that she’s also “in a really fortunate place to have some of the best care” and to have “so many people in our family who are in the medical field. This was just a little bit of different journey than what we had expected.”
Hanratty ended the video on a positive note, with a shoutout to her growing little one. “Any time I get a little sad or a little scared he kicks me and reminds me that he’s fine and that he’s gonna be OK,” she said with a smile.
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