title: Pregnancy and neonatal outcome following an antenatal diagnosis of cleft lip and palate.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify the significance of associated antenatal ultrasound findings on long-term prognosis following the antenatal diagnosis of cleft lip/palate [CL(P)].
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective case note analysis of patients seen at a single tertiary referral centre with a diagnosis of CL(P). The patients were classified as those with unilateral or bilateral clefts and then further subdivided according to the presence of associated anomalies, and these were related to pregnancy and neonatal outcome.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 125 singleton pregnancies were seen at the antenatal diagnostic unit, 14 of which were subsequently lost to follow-up. Eighty-two (65.6%) had a diagnosis of unilateral CL(P) and 43 (34.4%) a bilateral CL(P). Seventy-five foetuses (67.5%) had no other anomalies detected on antenatal ultrasound. Seventeen patients (15%) underwent a termination of pregnancy. A normal postnatal outcome was seen in 79% of liveborn infants overall. Only 50% of foetuses diagnosed with a single minor anomaly and 4% of the foetuses in whom more than two minor anomalies or one major anomaly had been detected on ultrasound had a normal postnatal outcome. Infants with bilateral CL(P) had a significantly reduced incidence of a normal postnatal course (60% vs. 87.5%, P<0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In cases of CL(P), there is a high incidence of associated anomalies detected on antenatal ultrasound and these significantly increase the risk of poor neonatal outcome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neonatology , Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc, Catholic University of Louvain, Brussels, Belgium. benedicte.michel@uclouvain.be
authors.forename: Bénédicte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Michel
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Debauche
authors.forename: Graham
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hutchings
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bernard
authors.forename: Jean-Marc
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Biard
authors.forename: Geneviève
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: François
authors.forename: Bénédicte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bayet
authors.forename: Olivia
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Williams
mesh_terms: D000015:Abnormalities, Multiple / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000235:genetics; D000025:Abortion, Eugenic; D000328:Adult; D001530:Belgium; D002971:Cleft Lip / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000235:genetics; D002972:Cleft Palate / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000235:genetics; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007621:Karyotyping; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal; D055815:Young Adult