Originally published December 14 2005
New study suggests how toddlers' behavior is impacted by mothers' tobacco use
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have published a study that claims mothers who smoke during their pregnancy are more likely to have toddlers that exhibit negative behavior, including rebelliousness and risk-taking.
The findings, reported in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, add to the evidence linking smoking during pregnancy with behavioral problems in children that may continue to adulthood.
The mothers were asked questions about their personalities and behavior, education and socioeconomic status, their relationship to their children, and the children's behavior.
Even when the researchers allowed for socioeconomic and other factors, "mothers who smoked during pregnancy were far more likely to have toddlers who displayed [negative behavior] than mothers who did not smoke during pregnancy," Brook writes.
The researchers are not sure how maternal smoking affects the behavior of the unborn child, and they encourage further studies.
"These findings highlight the importance of programs aimed at smoking prevention in nonsmoking women and smoking cessation in smoking women of childbearing age, " Sharon Milberger, ScD, of Harvard Medical School and of Wayne State University in Detroit, tells WebMD.
Previous studies have shown that aggressive and problem behavior in children often continues into the teen years and beyond, says Jacques Normand, PhD, acting chief of the Community Research Branch at the National Institute on Drug Abuse in Bethesda, Md.
He tells WebMD that if health care professionals tackle the issue of smoking during pregnancy, it could avoid behavior problems not only in children but in teens and young adults.
Lauren Wakschlag PhD, a researcher at the University of Chicago, notes that it's not clear that smoking during pregnancy actually causes behavior problems in the offspring.
Women who smoke during pregnancy are more likely to have toddlers who display negative behaviors, such as impulsiveness, risky behavior, and rebelliousness.
If a woman who smokes becomes pregnant, she should try to quit or at least cut down on smoking to prevent these behavior problems as well as premature birth and low birth weight.
All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing LLC takes sole responsibility for all content. Truth Publishing sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. NaturalNews.com is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. For the full terms of usage of this material, visit www.NaturalNews.com/terms.shtml