Past Articles
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English researchers confirmed previous studies linking smoking
during pregnancy to an increased occurrence of cleft palate – a birth
defect characterized by a split or opening in the roof of the mouth;
cleft lip is where there is failure of the upper lip to completely
join. In this recent study, maternal smoking during the first trimester
of pregnancy increased the odds of cleft lip with or without cleft
palate by 1.9 fold and the risk of cleft palate by 2.3 fold. Moreover,
there was evidence that passive smoking also raised the risk of these
and other orofacial cleft defects. Source: Cleft Palate Craniofacial Journal. July 2004. |