New dad Kohler-Cadmore raising cleft lip awareness

Tom Kohler-Cadmore and wife Melissa have been adjusting to life as new parents

Somerset batter Tom Kohler-Cadmore says it has been "really special" to be able to raise awareness of cleft lips and palates after his son was born with the condition last month.

Kohler-Cadmore and his wife Melissa Avison found out their son, Dougie, had a cleft lip and palate at their 20-week pregnancy scan.

Since Dougie's birth in early August, the top-order batter has had a sticker for UK national charity CLAPA - the Cleft Lip and Palate Association - on his bat during The Hundred where he was playing for Welsh Fire and now in the T20 Blast and County Championship for Somerset.

"To be able to do that and put it on the national stage has been really special," Kohler-Cadmore told BBC Points West.

"I've had loads of messages from other people who are going through or had similar stories - whether it's someone with a cleft lip, or had a cleft lip as a child, or having one of their children have it, reaching out to give us support or say thank you very much for raising awareness.

"To me that's meant so much being able to help raise a little bit of awareness."

A cleft is a gap or split in the upper lip and/or roof of the mouth (palate) that is present from birth.

CLAPA says that one in every 700 babies are born with a cleft around the world.

Melissa said she initially "panicked" when she was told about Dougie's cleft at the scan as she knew little of what it meant.

"Naively I don't know anyone with one so I didn't really know what to expect, I didn't know what that meant, I didn't know what it entailed," she said.

"I just panicked and instantly went to Google and what does this mean, what does this mean for the rest of his life with things he's going to have."

Kohler-Cadmore, who was away on a pre-season camp in Abu Dhabi at the time, added: "Melissa couldn't speak, she was just crying. I was expecting far worse from her reaction and then we very quickly calmed down, sorted it out and managed to [see] it's a cleft lip but it's very common.

"The more research we did it all became a lot more relaxed."

Tom Kohler-Cadmore's bat has a sticker on it to raise cleft lip and palate awareness

The cleft has meant Kohler-Cadmore and Melissa have had to make some adaptations for Dougie in these early weeks, particularly around feeding him using a special bottle.

He will undergo two operations next year on his lip and hard palate and then months later his soft palate - in the roof of his mouth - while there will be another operation in the future on his gum.

The couple both praised the support they have had from CLAPA in providing them with resources, advice and support groups as they have navigated the past few months.

"We've had so much help from the charities and medical staff and actually then it didn't seem quite so daunting," Melissa said.

"It just felt like you had support and a community around you."

Kohler-Cadmore is now back playing for Somerset in the final matches of the season and said that being a new father has given him a motivation "bigger than yourself" to play well on the field.

Raising awareness of the work done by CLAPA has also brought a new incentive to do well at the crease.

"The more time you're out in the middle the more exposure there is for the charity," he said.

"It's a big motivation of mine to bat a long time and score a lot of runs because if i'm in the changing room then they're not seeing any of the sticker."