Consonants are essential to speech intelligibility and require oral pressure to be produced.

Negative oral pressure is typically necessary for sucking, although food intake can be achieved, with difficulty, using an assist from gravity.

Positive oral pressure, however, is totally necessary to the production of most consonants...and consonants, more than vowels, are critical for speech intelligibility.

As severe as this structural problem is on the development of speech, it is equally threatening to the development of language. The impact on the parent- child relationship is potentially disastrous, if not understandable. The mother has been enduring much discomfort in the anticipation of a tiny "cherub." Instead, she is presented with a child having an awesome hole where his/her face should be!