Folic acid is recommended as a dietary supplement for pregnant women to avoid the risk of having babies with cleft lip. It also reduces their chances of suffering from spina bifida. Researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences examined the relation between facial clefts in children and mother’s intake of folic acid during pregnancy.

Cleft lip occurs when two sides of a lip do not completely fuse with each other. Infants with cleft palate will have difficulty in sucking, chewing and swallowing the food. This disorder is seen more in Asians. Boys are usually affected more than girls.

“Folic acid supplements during early pregnancy seem to reduce the risk of isolated cleft lip (with or without cleft palate) by about a third,” said Allen Wilcox of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in Durham, North Carolina.

Folic acid is a B vitamin present in leafy vegetables, cauliflower, strawberries, bran cereal, sunflower seeds, peanuts, wheat germ, citrus fruits, beans, and whole grains. Folic acid can also be taken as supplement.  400 micrograms of folic acid is the daily requirement for women. Over weight women will have lower blood folate level.