National Cleft & Craniofacial Awareness Prevention Month
July is National Cleft and Craniofacial Awareness and Prevention Month, an effort to raise awareness and improve understanding of birth defects of the head and face, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Common craniofacial birth defects include orofacial clefts (cleft lip, cleft palate, or both). Each year in the U.S., thousands of babies are born with a cleft, occurring when tissue in the baby’s upper lip or roof of the mouth does not join together completely during pregnancy.