We've all heard of heroin-dependent babies who suffer withdrawal symptoms after they are born, but what about babies born from nicotine-dependent mothers? Can babies really get hooked on nicotine while in their cigarette-smoking mother's womb? Researchers from Brisbane, Australia observed over 3,000 mothers to see if there is anything to this potentially explosive question. The researchers closely followed the smoking habits of live-born children after they had reached 21, and then compared these results to their mother's smoking habits during pregnancy. The researchers found that roughly a third of the women had smoked during their pregnancy, and that children born from this group of mothers were indeed more likely to take up smoking in later life.
Alarmingly, the researchers discovered that children of mothers who smoked during their pregnancy were 3-times more likely to begin smoking habitually at, or before, the age of 14, and twice as likely after this age. The researchers add that their findings still hold true even when other external, environmental factors are taken into consideration.
It was shown that mothers only had to stop smoking for the duration of the pregnancy to give their unborn child the same chance as non-smokers. To this end, conclude the researchers, mothers who smoke while pregnant are increasing their unborn child's chances of taking up the habit.
Source: BMJ Specialty Journals
