What is Cleft Lip and Palate?

Cleft lip and/or palate is one of the most common birth defects. In the state of Maine,this condition occurs approximately once in every seven hundred births. This number represents the general population risk for cleft lip and/or palate. The recurrence risk for isolated cleft lip and/or palate is about 3-4%. 

There are many different causes of cleft lip and/or palate. Clefting can be part of a syndrome that can be inherited through a family, it can be associated with other birth defects, or it can occur as an "isolated" finding being the only birth defect a baby has. Therefore, a genetic evaluation is necessary in order to determine whether a person's cleft lip and/or palate is isolated, or part of a genetic syndrome that involves other physical/developmental concerns. The most common form of cleft lip and palate is the isolated type.

Cleft lip and/or palate is a genetic disorder of multifactorial etiology, caused by both genetic and environmental factors. Currently, the particular genes involved in facial clefting have not yet been identified. Folic acid has recently been sbown to reduce the risk of having a baby with cleft lip and/or palate. It is currently recommended that women who have had a baby with a cleft take 4.0 mg of folic acid daily, starting one month before conception and continuing for the first three months of pregnancy.