Now there is another valid reason for women to quit smoking. A recent study from US researchers have pointed out that women who smoke during pregnancy are more likely to have babies with congenital heart defects.
The researchers studied 566 infants with congenital heart defect (CHD) and 491 babies without a CHD along with their parents.
They came to a conclusion that women who fagged before conception till the end of first trimester are 60% more prone to CHD babies. In addition, the risk would be more if the women took prenatal vitamins and limited alcohol. Exposure to secondhand smoke also leads to CHD.
Sadia Malik, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Arkansas said,
‘The heart’s basic structures develop very early in pregnancy, before many women realize they are pregnant. Thus, even if a woman quits smoking at six weeks or later, her fetus will still have been exposed to the harmful effects of cigarette smoking during cardiac development.’
