Cleft Lip

Symptoms

A cleft lip is obvious at birth. Beyond the distinctive physical appearance, a cleft lip usually does not cause other symptoms or feeding problems. Babies born with cleft lip often can breast-feed successfully. And bottle-feeding usually is not a problem if you use special nipples with hole openings that are slightly bigger than newborns usually require.

Feeding problems usually only occur in babies with cleft lip if they also have cleft palate.

Usually cleft lip is not related to other health problems. But cleft lip with cleft palate can be linked to other health conditions, such as fetal alcohol syndrome or chromosomal disorders. A baby born with cleft lip who has other physical abnormalities or symptoms, such as an irregularly shaped head or respiratory problems, will be evaluated for these other types of health problems.

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Author:	Debby Golonka, MPH	Last Updated: February 4, 2008
Medical Review:	Michael J. Sexton, MD - Pediatrics Arden Christen, DDS, MSD, MA, FACD - Dentistry
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