Cleft palate and cleft lip birth defects

According to the Cleft Palate Foundation, one out of every 594 newborns or 6,800 children per year is affected by oral birth defects such as cleft palate or cleft lip or a combination of the two.

What is cleft lip? What is cleft palate?

What is cleft lip?

A cleft lip is split or has a gap. A cleft lip almost always accompanies a cleft palate. Surgery is required to fix a cleft lip birth defect.

What is cleft palate?

Cleft palate is a condition in which the two plates of the skull that form the roof of the mouth are not completely fused. Surgery is required to fix a cleft palate.

What causes cleft lip and cleft palate birth defects?

Sometimes cleft birth defects are hereditary and sometimes clefts are genetically predisposed. Some clefts may flourish in combination with other disorders and would be considered a medical syndrome.

Environmental factors play a role in cleft birth defects:

• At-risk prescription drugs such as anti seizure medications and migraine prevention meds like Topamax and Depakote during the first trimester of pregnancy have recently come under the microscope for elevated risks for cleft defects.
• Maternal diabetes
• Teenage pregnancies
• Lack of prenatal examinations
• Lack of certain vitamins
• Lack of a balanced diet during pregnancy
• Smoking
• Chronic substance abuse
• Maternal obesity

What is the treatment for cleft birth defects?

Surgery is required. Surgery can start as young as 1 to 1 1/2 years old. Prior to surgery, your baby may need help with feeding and breast feeding. One surgery rarely solves the cleft problem. Usually additional surgeries are needed as your child develops.

In the meantime a battery of services will be required such as speech therapy; possibly special feeding tubes; psychologist or behaviorist to develop coping skills and self confidence because of different appearance; and a specialist to care for middle ear infections which are a common side effect of cleft birth defects.

Hard and soft palate defects will likely require several surgeries beginning at birth and continuing to 10 to 13 years old.

Complications vary as do correctional strategies. But the fact remains that if your baby is the victim of cleft palate or cleft lip and you were prescribed an anti-epileptic drug or a preventative migraine headache drug - you may qualify for a cleft birth defect lawsuit. Contact us for some legal guidance on cleft birth defects.

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