What Causes Cleft Lip and Palate?
Doctors don’t know exactly why a baby develops cleft lip or cleft palate, but they believe it may be a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Women with a relative who has a cleft have a slightly higher risk of having a child with a cleft. Both mothers and fathers can pass on a gene or genes that cause cleft palate or cleft lip. If women take certain medications — such as some medicines to control seizures — during pregnancy, the chance of having a baby with cleft lip or palate may be higher. A mother’s exposure to certain chemicals may also cause clefting, although this is rare. Not getting the right nutrients may increase a child’s risk of being born with a cleft — for example, if the mother has a lack of folic acid in her diet. Finally, use of drugs and alcohol during pregnancy increases the risk that a baby will be born with birth defects. Research has shown that moms who binge drink (drinking five or more drinks on one occasion) during the first weeks of pregnancy have
