Women who consume folic acid supplements early in their pregnancy can substantially reduce their baby’s chances of being born with a cleft lip.
Folic acid — a B vitamin found in green leafy vegetables, citrus fruits and certain dairy products — was first recommended by the U.S. Public Health Service in 1992 to effectively reduce the rate of babies born with neural tube defects like spina bifida and anencephaly.
According to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences study, women with a folate-rich diet who also took daily vitamin supplements were also those with the least risk of having a baby with a cleft lip.
The study included the mothers of 377 children in Norway with cleft lip and 196 with cleft palate only who were born from 1996 to 2000. The study also included a group of mothers of 763 children without cleft lip or cleft palate.
The mothers were asked about their intake of alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, multivitamins and folic acid supplements during pregnancy.
Thus, the study concluded that daily folic acid supplements of 400 micrograms or more reduced the risk of cleft lip by 40% and independent of supplements, a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and other foods high in folic acid reduced the risk by 25%.
