Understanding the Cause of Your Child’s Cleft Palate
When your child is born with a cleft palate, every parent wants to know why. While no one can pinpoint the exact cause in every child, there are some known causes of cleft palate. Cleft palate refers to a deformity of the palate, in which the two plates of the skull that form the roof of the mouth are not completely joined together. This “cleft”, or split, also affects the soft palate in many cases.
A cleft palate can be complete with a full gap in the jaw, or incomplete, with a hole in the roof of the mouth. Cleft palate and cleft lip affects a small number of the population, about one case for every 700 births. You want to know why.
During the first 6-8 weeks of pregnancy, an embryo's head is formed and five early tissue lobes begin to grow. The first one starts at the top of the embryo's head and grows downward to meet the upper lip area. The next two lobes grow from the cheeks to meet the first lobe. Then two more lobes grow from below and from the side to form the chin and lower lip area. If any of these tissue lobes fail to meet, a gap will appear. The severity of the birth defect will depend on the number of individual fusion failures, which could be from a single site or from several at once.
Causes of Cleft Palate
But what actually causes cleft palate, genetically speaking? Scientists and researchers have identified a few different gene variations that account for the condition appearing in both men and women and from all races. Once a child is born with a cleft palate the chances of passing the condition down the family line are increased to 1 in 14. Additionally, cleft palate has been known to run in immediate families.
Environmental influence, as in parental exposure, may be a contributing factor. Some of the listed causes include prolonged exposure to pesticides, a deficiency in diet or vitamin intake, excess retinoic acid and exposure to lead. Drug use poses a significant risk from cigarettes and alcohol, illegal drugs, and anti-convulsant medications. Cleft palate may also result from complications of other conditions, such as Stickler's syndrome and Loeys-Dietz syndrome. Further risks of cleft palate include pregnancies that take place in women over the age of 35 or under the age of 19.
Genetic counseling can help couples to take precautions to ensure a healthy pregnancy and eliminate certain risks. For example, some studies have suggested that taking supplements of folic acid can help prevent the chances of cleft palate. Advancements made in surgical techniques now allow babies born with cleft palate to have the option of surgery. Children can be operated on within the first 12-18 months of their life, with minimal risks.
The International Craniofacial Institute and the Cleft Lip and Palate Treatment Center , have devoted over 30 years and 16,000 surgeries to craniofacial syndromes and cases of cleft palate, and cleft palate with cleft lip. Rather than looking to place blame for the cause, we encourage you to focus on the solutions available to give your child the best quality of life possible.