Babies whose mothers smoked during pregnancy were more than twice as likely to have a cleft palate or lip as those whose mothers didn’t, according to research results released recently.

Although the study confirms earlier findings, it is unique because it did not rely on women’s self-reported smoking habits during pregnancy. Instead, researchers used the more reliable method of measuring the levels of cotinine, a metabolite of nicotine, in the blood from about 500 pregnant women.

Nearly 7,000 babies are born annually with an oral-facial cleft in the United States. Children with oral clefts often have difficulty feeding, frequent ear infections, hearing loss, speech difficulties, and dental problems. Surgery often can repair these birth defects, which typically occur by the seventh week of pregnancy.

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