BIRTH DEFECTS
Cleft Lip and Palate
Spina Bifida and Anencephaly
These are two of the main type of birth defects that can result from poor maternal nutrition during pregnancy
Cleft Lip and Palate
Cleft lip and palate is a birth defect where there are openings or splits in the upper lip, the roof of the mouth (palate) or both. Cleft lip and cleft palate occur when an unborn baby's face and mouth are developing and the upper lip and palate don't close fully.
6000-8000 children in the US annually who live with this condition
Results from poor nutrition and deficiencies such as a lack of folic acid.
“Cleft Lip and Palate Program.” Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, www.chop.edu/centers-programs/cleft-lip-and-palate-program. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025.
Cleft lip and palate, on left.
On right, after surgical repair.
Spina Bifida
What is Spina Bifida?
Spina bifida is a condition that babies can be born with when the spine and spinal cord do not form properly, resulting in an opening in the spine.
This happens before birth when the neural tube, which forms the brain and spinal cord, does not close all the way.
This can also affect the bones along the spine and prevent them from forming properly.
In this condition, part of the spinal column can stick out of the back & sometimes the spinal cord & nerves can be affected.
This can sometimes result in babies having trouble with moving, feeling and having normal body functions.
Anencephaly is a birth defect where a baby is born missing parts of the brain and skull.
Most babies born with this die immediately.
Approximately 1 in every 5000 babies born in the US have this condition.
Anencephaly is one of the most dangerous neural tube defects
Unfortunately, this condition is almost always fatal
