A cleft occurs when certain body parts and structures do not fuse together during the development of the fetus. Clefts can involve the lip, the roof of the mouth, and the soft tissue in the back of the mouth.

Clefts occur very early in the development of the fetus when many women do not even know they are pregnant. The crucial time for head and face development of a fetus is between the 3rd and 9th weeks of pregnancy.

Clefts are the number one birth defect in many developing countries.

Cleft Lips

Cleft lips come in a broad range of severity and disfigurement. Some can be as mild as a slight notch in the red part of the upper lip to a severe cleft lip involving total separation of the lip all the way up into the nose. Cleft lips can involve a single cleft (which is known as a unilateral cleft), or a double cleft (bilateral cleft). They always occur on the upper lip.

Cleft Palates

Cleft palates can range from a tiny little hole in back of the roof of the mouth to a major cavity that runs all the way from the front to the back of the mouth. A cleft palate can occur on one side or both sides of the upper mouth.

Causes

The exact causes of cleft lip and palate are not known. But most experts agree that these are “multi-factorial” and may include a genetic predisposition as well as environmental issues such as drug and alcohol use, smoking, maternal illness, infections and lack of vitamin B folic acid.

A woman is at a higher risk for having a baby with a cleft if she is a teenager or over 35 years old and is exposed to teratogens, which include medications, chemicals, infectious diseases and environmental agents that can disrupt the normal development of a fetus.

Incidence of Clefts

It is estimated that one child in every 700 is born with a cleft. For India, this translates into over 35,000 babies born each year with this condition.