14 DAY TRIAL // Speaking at a meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies this past May 3, a team of researchers reinforced the idea that pregnant women should probably refrain from lighting up.
Scientists explain that, according to recent evidence, women who smoke while expecting have a higher risk to deliver babies suffering from various heart defects.
Not at all surprisingly, it appears that, the more a mother smokes while pregnant, the higher her offspring's chances to be diagnosed with a congenital heart defect are.
There is evidence to suggest that, when compared to babies born to mothers who do not smoke while expecting, those born to smokers have a 50%-70% greater risk to display abnormalities in their pulmonary valve and pulmonary arteries.
What's more, they have a 20% higher risk to be diagnosed with atrial septal defects, i.e. holes in the walls that separate the heart's chambers, EurekAlert tells us.
Interestingly enough, it would appear that smoking affects the babies of young women less than it does babies born to older women, the researchers behind this investigation say.
“Ongoing cigarette use during pregnancy is a serious problem that increases the risk of many adverse outcomes in newborns,” Dr. Patrick M. Sullivan with the Seattle Children's Hospital wished to stress.
“Our research provides strong support for the hypothesis that smoking while pregnant increases the risk of specific heart defects,” the specialist added.