For Parents

 

Clubfoot information

What is clubfoot?

Clubfoot is a deformity present at birth that twists the foot downward and inward, making walking difficult or impossible. While it cannot be prevented, it can be corrected using a relatively inexpensive treatment process called the Ponseti method.

Read more about Clubfoot

Can it be treated?

Yes, clubfoot can be treated! We adhere to treatment through the Ponseti method, the gold standard of clubfoot treatment. The treatment phase involves weekly casting for four to eight weeks and, in most cases, a minimally-invasive outpatient procedure to lengthen the Achilles tendon, called a tenotomy. After this, in the maintenance phase, children wear a foot abduction brace for 23 hours a day for three months, and then at night and nap time until the age of five. Children born with clubfoot can take their first steps on completely straight feet thanks to early intervention and to this relatively simple, cost-effective treatment method.

Where can I get help?

We currently operate partner clubfoot clinics in 16 countries in Africa and Latin America. Click the “find a clinic” button below to see if there is a Hope Walks partner clubfoot clinic near you. If not, please contact us and we’ll do our best to refer you to someone who can help.

Find a Clinic

Parent Education Tool

A guide for parents of children with clubfoot. Download in your language.

English
Amharic
Chinchewa
Creole
French
Kinyarwanda
Kirundi
Portuguese
Spanish
Swahili

Video Resources

Hope Walks has been working in partnership with Medical Aid Films to create four films about clubfoot and the Ponseti method of treatment. These films are used to train parent advisors, as well as an educational tool for parents. Videos (with and without English/French subtitles) are available for streaming or download by clicking the images below. Currently the videos are in English, French and Portuguese. Within the next few weeks, Spanish, Amharic and Kinyarwanda translations will be available.

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Stories from Our Families

Overcoming a Flurry of Fears

Overcoming a Flurry of Fears

Nov 17, 2025

Wonderful in Malawi In many communities, clubfoot is unfamiliar, and therefore deeply alarming. For Abel and Mary, things were no different. When their son Wonderful was born with clubfoot in both feet, they were overwhelmed with a flurry of fears. Will he ever be...

A Precious Gift of Healing

A Precious Gift of Healing

Oct 20, 2025

Esther in Haiti When little Esther was born with clubfoot, her mother, Stéphanie, felt her world collapse. Her husband had already left, and she was suddenly alone—without a steady income, facing whispers from neighbors who said her baby was cursed or hopeless. “Some...

First Steps of Hope

First Steps of Hope

Oct 20, 2025

Junior in Kenya When Joyce first held her newborn son, Junior, joy and fear mixed in her heart. He was tiny—born underweight and needing care in the hospital’s intensive-care unit. But what worried her most wasn’t the wires or machines around him. It was his little...