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Cleft lip and palate is due to tissues of the face not properly joining together during development. They are a type of birth defect. The cause in most cases is unknown. Risk factors include smoking during pregnancy, diabetes, an older mother, obesity, and certain medications such as some used to treat seizures.
A cleft lip can occur alone or together with a cleft palate. The palate is the roof of the mouth. A cleft palate with or without a cleft lip occurs in approximately 1 per 2,500 births. An isolated cleft palate (meaning the cleft palate occurs without a cleft lip) is more common in females than males.