Maternal Smoking News and Research

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Study links higher body fat to lower sperm counts despite normal BMI

Among 1,058 Danish men, higher body fat percentage was associated with lower total sperm count and altered reproductive hormone levels, but not testicular volume. Body fat percentage showed stronger links with several semen measures than BMI or waist-to-height ratio, with the sperm-count association strengthening among men with normal BMI.

2 Aug 2026

Study tracks school readiness and academic performance in preterm children

More than half of children (57 per cent) born before 32 weeks were not ready for school at five years of age, including in areas such as communication and language, and physical and emotional development.

14 Jul 2026

Maternal occupations linked to increased autism diagnosis odds

Findings indicate that certain maternal jobs are associated with increased autism odds in children, highlighting the importance of prenatal occupational health.

15 May 2026

Very high prenatal PFAS exposure increases childhood asthma risk

High prenatal exposure to PFAS linked to increased childhood asthma risk, highlighting concerns over 'forever chemicals' and early-life environmental impacts.

14 Apr 2026

Smoking during pregnancy raises children’s mental health risk

Smoking during pregnancy may increase children's mental health issues, with implications for internalizing and externalizing symptoms throughout development.

9 Apr 2026

Prenatal smoking linked to broader mental health issues in children

Children exposed to maternal smoking before birth are more likely to experience behavioral and mental health challenges, according to a large study funded by the National Institutes of Health's Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program.

6 Apr 2026

Reducing maternal smoking during pregnancy could lower hypertension rates in children

Maternal smoking during pregnancy may be associated with higher blood pressure and increased risk of hypertension in children, according to a new ECHO Cohort study led by Lyndsey Shorey-Kendrick, PhD, of Oregon Health & Science University and Christine Ladd-Acosta, PhD, of Johns Hopkins University.

17 Feb 2026

Redefining cardiovascular care for women

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death for women across the globe, yet significant progress has been made in prevention, diagnosis and management thanks to more sex-specific research, as noted in a special Go Red for Women issue of Circulation, the American Heart Association's flagship, peer-reviewed scientific journal, published today.

17 Feb 2026

Study clarifies why most colic isn’t caused by cow’s milk allergy

Cow’s milk allergy rarely causes infant colic on its own, and most excessively crying infants do not have underlying allergy. A short elimination–and–rechallenge trial may help confirm CMA only when colic coexists with other allergic features.

19 Nov 2025

Maternal obesity raises childhood epilepsy and disability risks, new study shows

Higher maternal BMI before pregnancy is linked to increased risks of epilepsy and intellectual disability in young children, even after extensive adjustment for maternal and neonatal factors. Associations with autism spectrum disorder and ADHD disappear after full adjustment, highlighting the potential mediating role of perinatal complications.

17 Nov 2025

Cesarean births do not raise infant allergy risk in major Japanese cohort study

In a large Japanese birth cohort, cesarean delivery was not linked to higher risks of eczema, wheezing, atopic dermatitis, or asthma in infants at one year of age. Emergency cesarean delivery was even associated with a modest reduction in eczema, suggesting that mode of birth alone may not drive early-life allergic disease.

13 Nov 2025

Breastfeeding at six months boosts children’s IQ and academic skills into adolescence

Breastfeeding at six months was linked to higher IQ, better reading and math skills, and improved conversational abilities in children, according to the ALSPAC study. The findings, based on 42 significant outcomes, highlight long-term cognitive advantages but stop short of proving causality.

1 Sep 2025

Aluminum vaccines cleared of long-term health risks

Findings from a cohort of 1.2 million children indicate aluminum-adsorbed vaccines do not raise the risk of autism, asthma, or autoimmune diseases.

17 Jul 2025

Scientists discover on/off gene switches that could revolutionize personalized medicine

Scientists identified 473 human genes that act as genetic “on/off switches,” shaping disease risk through tissue-specific or universal patterns regulated by DNA changes and hormones. These findings could pave the way for more precise diagnostics and personalized therapies across cancers, immune, skin, and metabolic diseases.

22 Jun 2025

New hypothesis links caffeine to lower risk of sudden infant death syndrome

After decades of stalled national progress in reducing the rate of Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID), a category of infant mortality that includes sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), researchers at Rutgers Health have proposed an unexpected solution: Caffeine might protect babies by preventing dangerous drops in oxygen that may trigger deaths.

11 Jun 2025

Can smoking while pregnant harm your child’s teeth? New research suggests yes

Maternal smoking during pregnancy is associated with dental anomalies in children, including enamel defects and hypodontia, necessitating more rigorous studies.

2 Jun 2025

Early childhood weight patterns linked to future obesity risk

Not all children grow the same way. A new study from the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program suggests that body weight changes in early childhood may be associated with later obesity risk.

22 May 2025

NHS funding cuts could undermine progress in reducing smoking during pregnancy

Unprecedented progress in reducing the number of women smoking during pregnancy in England could be put at risk by NHS funding cuts, according to a UEA addiction expert.

12 May 2025

Could tea during pregnancy give your baby a brain boost? Research says yes

Maternal tea consumption during pregnancy – particularly in the second and third trimesters – is associated with improved cognitive, fine motor, and gross motor skills in 3-year-olds, while coffee intake shows no significant impact, according to a Chinese cohort study of 1,423 mother-child pairs.

18 Mar 2025

How eating more calories helps lower asthma risk in children - but only up to a point

Children and adolescents in the U.S. who consume higher amounts of dietary energy have a lower risk of asthma, but this protective effect stops beyond 56.442 kcal per kilogram of body weight per day. The study found an L-shaped relationship, suggesting that insufficient energy intake may heighten asthma risk.

12 Mar 2025