Growth comparison between children with cleft lip and/or palate and controls.

General growth from birth to 2.5 years of age of 45 children with a solitary, nonsyndromic cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P) was compared to that of 50 controls. Weight, height, and head circumference were studied in relation to possible influencing factors. Growth of children with CL/P was found to be similar, to a large extent, to that of the control sample, with the exception of growth measured by height. Whereas males in the control group are generally taller than females, the reverse is seen for the CL/P group. Feeding difficulties and intestinal disorders, airway infections, and cleft restoring operations do not account for differences among the groups with CL/P and the control group as was suggested in the literature. Feeding difficulties and intestinal disorders between 12 and 18 months of age and airway infections between 0 and 3 months of age were identified as having a negative influence on growth, measured by weight and height, though not on head circumference.