Smoking increases birth defect risk

Women who smoke during pregnancy are at a greater risk of giving birth to a child with missing or deformed fingers and toes, according to a US study.

The study found that smoking just half a pack per day increases the risk of having a child born with a finger or toe defect by 29 per cent when compared to non-smokers.

“Because limbs develop very early in pregnancy, the effect may occur even before a woman knows she is pregnant,” said lead researcher Benjamin Chang from The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

“We found that the more a woman smoked, the higher the risk became that the baby would have these defects.”

The researchers reviewed the records of more than 6.8 million live births listed in the US between 2001 and 2002.

They found that 5,171 children were born with finger and toe deformities during the period.

Women who smoked between 11 and 20 cigarettes a day during pregnancy were 38 per cent more likely to have babies with defects.

And, women who smoked more than 21 cigarettes a day increased their risk by 78 per cent.

“Although the current study does not prove that prenatal exposure to cigarettes causes digital anomalies, there is a strong association as the population studied is very large, and the dose-response effect is significant,” Mr Chang added.

Taken from : www.999today.com