eMedicineLive

According to a recent study, which has been published in the “Journal of Human Capital”, researchers have found that when mothers smoke during pregnancy; the infants born to such mothers have a delayed neurological development. The association between prenatal smoking and the delay in early neurological development of the baby has been found to be much stronger than was previously thought. The researchers say that the risk of developmental problems in children between 3 to 24 months increases by as much as 40 percentage points because of maternal smoking.

 

The study, led by George Wehby, a professor at the University of Iowa's College of Public Health, recruited about 1,600 children from health clinics in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile. The smoking habits of the mothers were enquired and the children underwent neurological screening, which included cognitive tests and assessments of communication and basic neurological function. The researchers found delayed neurological development in children born to mothers who smoked during pregnancy. The association was found to be stronger in children from low socio- economic class. The researchers have explained that this could be because in the children of higher socio- economic status, the ill effects of smoking may be neutralized to an extent through better health behaviors and improved access to prenatal care.

 

Similar side effects of smoking had been found in earlier studies too. But the results derived in those studies were influenced by the presence of other confounding factors. However, in this study, Wehby and his team used a statistical technique that helped to account for these biases. This allowed them to understand the exact role of smoking. After removing the biases due to other confounding factors, the researchers found that the effect of maternal smoking on the neurological development of the child is much stronger than was earlier thought.

 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 12 percent of pregnant American women reported that they smoked while pregnant in 2005, despite being aware of the dangers of smoking. The results of the present study will provide a fresh impetus for pregnant women to give up smoking.

 

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