Smoking while pregnant linked to serious birth defects

Consumer health website, www.itsmyhealth.com.au published today the results of a recent study that found women who smoke while pregnant are increasing the risk that their child will have a significant birth defect.

While much has been said about the effect of smoking on premature birth and birth weight, this new study has linked maternal smoking with a range of serious defects including heart defects, eye and facial deformities, missing fingers and toes, premature fusing of the skull bones, intestinal problems, and clubbed feet.

In this first ever comprehensive systematic review of congenital birth defects the researchers examined results from some 100 studies comprising nearly 175,000 birth defect cases and more than 11.5 million unaffected controls between 1959 to 2010.

After correcting for possible genetic or chromosomal factors, age, and alcohol consumption, they found that maternal smoking was tied to significantly increased risks of these birth defects.

The full article is available at http://www.itsmyhealth.com.au/healthy-living/news/smoking-while-pregnant-linked-to-serious-birth-def.

www.itsmyhealth.com.au