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Mom’s Weight Gain May Affect Cleft Palate Risk
A substantial amount of weight gain between pregnancies seems to be a factor increasing the risk of cleft palate in offspring, according to US and Swedish researchers.
Cleft lip or palate occurs when the tissues that form the palate, or roof of the mouth, and the upper lip do not join correctly. Surgery is often performed to repair the condition.
The researchers found that large increases in maternal body weight between the first and the second pregnancies were associated with greater risk of having a baby with cleft palate. They studied data on more than 220,000 Swedish women who had had their first two pregnancies between 1992 and 2004.
Although the mechanisms to explain the association between cleft palate and maternal weight gain between pregnancies are still uncertain, this finding contributes additional evidence to the importance of keeping a healthy weight throughout life.
Unexpectedly, the research also suggests an association between isolated cleft palate risk and longer interval between pregnancies. There was a linear increase from 0.3 per 1000 live births in women with intervals of less than 1 year to 0.9 in those with an interval of 4 years or more.
(American Journal of Epidemiology, June, 2008)

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