Cleft lip and crack palate

KEY POINTS

  • Cleft lip and cleft palate are birth defects in a baby's lip and oral fissure.

  • Babies and children with crack lip and cleft palate may have feeding, speech, hearing and dental problems.

  • We don't always know what causes cleft lip and palate, but things likes smoking, having diabetes and taking certain medicines can increase risk.

  • Take a multivitamin with folic acrid in it each twenty-four hours to help prevent cleft lip and cleft palate in your baby.

  • Most babies with cleft lip and cleft palate can have surgery early in life to repair cleft lip and palate.

What are cleft lip and cleft palate?

Cleft lip is a birth defect in which a babe's upper lip doesn't form completely and has an opening in it. Cleft palate is a nascency defect in which a baby's palate (roof of the mouth) doesn't form completely and has an opening in it. These birth defects are chosen oral clefts or orofacial clefts.

Nascence defects are health conditions that are present at nascency. They change the shape or function of ane or more parts of the torso. Birth defects can cause problems in overall wellness, how the body develops or how the trunk works. Cleft lip and cleft palate are common birth defects. Almost i or 2 in 1,000 babies (less than ane percentage) are born with crack lip and palate each year in the United States.

Crevice lip and crevice palate happen very early in pregnancy. Your baby's lips form between 4 and 7 weeks of pregnancy, and the palate forms between half-dozen and 9 weeks of pregnancy. Oral clefts don't have to happen together—a baby tin can take one without the other. Boys are twice as likely as girls to have cleft lip with or without cleft palate. Girls are more likely than boys to have cleft palate without cleft lip.

How do cleft lip and cleft palate impact a infant's face?

Some babies with a cleft lip accept just a small notch in the upper lip. Others have a larger opening or pigsty in the lip that goes through the lip and up into the nose. A cleft lip can happen on 1 or both sides of a baby's lip. Having a cleft in the middle of the lip is rare.

A cleft palate can touch on the soft palate (the soft tissue at the back of the roof of the rima oris) or the difficult palate (the bony front part of the roof of the oral cavity). In some babies with cleft palate, both the front and dorsum parts of the palate are open. In other babies, only part of the palate is open.

What causes cleft lip and cleft palate?

We don't know for sure what causes cleft lip and palate. They may be caused by a combination of things, like genes and things in your environment, like what you lot swallow or drink and medicines yous take. Genes are parts of your trunk's cells that store instructions for the mode your body grows and works. Genes are passed from parents to children.

These things may increase your chances of having a infant with cleft lip or palate:

  • Family history of cleft lip and crevice palate. Family unit history is health conditions and treatments that you, your partner and everyone in your families. If others in your or your partner'south family take cleft lip or cleft palate (they run in your family unit), you're more probable to have a babe with these birth defects. Cleft lip and cleft palate are more common in families who are Asian, Hispanic and Native American. If you accept a family history of crevice lip or palate, tell your wellness care provider and a genetic counselor. This is a person trained to aid yous sympathize about genes, nascency defects and other medical atmospheric condition that run in families, and how they can bear on your health and your baby's health.
  • Smoking or drinking booze during pregnancy. Women who binge drink during the first weeks of pregnancy are more probable to accept a baby with a crack lip or cleft palate than other women. Rampage drinking is when you drink four or more drinks in 2 to 3 hours.
  • Not getting enough nutrients, like folic acid, earlier and during pregnancy. Folic acid is a vitamin that every prison cell in your body needs for healthy growth and development. If you take folic acid earlier pregnancy and during early pregnancy, it tin can help protect your baby from cleft lip and palate and birth defects of the brain and spine called neural tube defects.
  • Having diabetes before pregnancy. Diabetes is a condition in which your body has as well much carbohydrate (called glucose) in the blood. Diabetes before pregnancy is also called preexisting diabetes or blazon 1 or type 2 diabetes.
  • Taking certain medicines during pregnancy. If you accept epilepsy and take anti-seizure medicines (like topiramate or valproic acid) during the first trimester of pregnancy, y'all're more than likely to have a infant with crack lip (with or without scissure palate) than women who don't accept these medicines. Epilepsy is a seizure disorder that affects how the nerve cells in your brain piece of work. A seizure is when the whole body or parts of the body move without control.
  • Being obese during pregnancy. If yous're obese, you accept an backlog amount of body fat and your body mass index (besides chosen BMI) is 30 or higher.
  • Having certain infections during pregnancy, like rubella (also chosen German measles)

What can you do to help prevent cleft lip and cleft palate in your babe?

You lot can't always prevent cleft lip and cleft palate in your babe. Only there are things you tin do to assistance reduce your baby'southward chances of having these birth defects:

  • Have folic acid. Before pregnancy, take a multivitamin with 400 micrograms of folic acid in it every twenty-four hour period. During pregnancy, take a prenatal vitamin with 600 micrograms of folic acrid in information technology every day.
  • Don't smoke or drink alcohol. Alcohol includes beer, vino and liquor.
  • Get a preconception checkup. This is a medical checkup yous get before pregnancy to help make sure you're healthy when y'all get pregnant.
  • Get to a healthy weight before pregnancy and talk to your provider near gaining a healthy amount of weight during pregnancy.
  • Talk to your provider to make certain any medicine you take is safety during pregnancy. You may need to stop taking a medicine or switch to one that's safer during pregnancy. Don't stop taking any medicine without talking to your provider offset.
  • When yous do go pregnant, get early and regular prenatal intendance. Prenatal intendance is medical care you get during pregnancy.
  • Protect yourself from infections. Talk to your provider to make sure all your vaccinations are up to date, specially for rubella. Vaccinations help protect you from sure infections. Stay away from people who are infected. Wash your easily often.

How are cleft lip and cleft palate diagnosed?

Most babies are diagnosed with cleft lip or fissure palate subsequently nascency. Some babies with sure types of cleft palate may not be diagnosed until later in life. But during pregnancy, your provider may see your baby's fissure lip or palate in an ultrasound. Ultrasound is a prenatal test that uses audio waves and a computer screen to testify a picture of your baby inside the womb.

What problems can cleft lip and cleft palate cause for your baby?

Babies and children with cleft lip or cleft palate may take:

  • Dental problems
  • Ear infections and hearing problems
  • Feeding problems
  • Speech problems

How are crevice lip and fissure palate treated?

In virtually cases, your baby tin can have surgery to repair oral clefts. Each baby is dissimilar, but it's usually best if a baby has surgery for crevice lip earlier he'due south ane year old and surgery for crack palate by the time he's 18 months old. Surgery can help improve the look of a child'southward face, and it may help with breathing, hearing and spoken communication and language development. Many children need more surgeries for oral clefts equally they abound. They also may need intendance from several providers, like dentists, doctors, voice communication therapists and surgeons who specialize in taking care of babies with problems acquired by cleft lip and palate.

American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association

Last reviewed: January, 2017