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What are the causes and symptoms of cleft lip and palate?

April 26, 2017causes Cleft Conditions Fitness Health lip medical palate procedures symptoms

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What are the causes and symptoms of cleft lip and palate?

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Cleft lips and palates not associated with a syndrome are caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Inheritance caused by such a combination is called multifactorial. The embryo inherits genes that increase the risk for cleft lip and/or palate. When an embryo with such genes is exposed to certain environmental factors the embryo develops a cleft. The risk of a baby being born with a cleft lip or palate increases with the number of affected relatives and the number of relatives that have more severe clefts. Environmental factors that increase the risk of cleft lip and palate include cigarette and alcohol use during pregnancy. Some drugs, such as phenytoin, sodium valproate, and methotrexate, also increase the incidence of clefting. The pregnant mother’s nutrition may affect the incidence of clefting as well. Babies born with a cleft lip will be seen to have an elongated opening in the upper lip. The size of this opening may range from a small notch in the upper lip t