Maternal Smoking News and Research

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Maternal obesity linked to childhood weight issues through DNA changes

Boston Birth Cohort study finds that maternal pre-pregnancy obesity alters newborn DNA methylation, potentially increasing the risk of obesity in the child. The research targets high-risk U.S. demographics and could guide future interventions for childhood obesity.

27 Aug 2023

Study reveals surprising link between biological age and child development

Study explores the relationship between accelerated biological age in children, as indicated by telomere length and DNA methylation age, and various developmental outcomes. It aims to clarify the impact of accelerated biological age on growth, cognition, behavior, lung function, and puberty onset in European school-age children.

7 Jun 2023

Smoke alarm: France's high maternal smoking rates fuel prematurity and low birth weight

Research highlights the adverse effects of active and passive maternal smoking on low birth weight and preterm delivery rates. It emphasizes the importance of smoking cessation and tobacco control policies to improve maternal and child health outcomes.

1 Jun 2023

What is the influence of prenatal second-hand smoke exposure on infant self-regulation?

A new study aimed to analyze an important gap concerning the impact of prenatal SHS exposure on infant self-regulation.

14 Mar 2023

What is the effect of maternal circulating amino acids on offspring birthweight?

Researchers examined the effect of serum levels of 20 amino acids in a mother during pregnancy on offspring birthweight in a two-sample summary data Mendelian randomization framework.

27 Feb 2023

Study: Nearly one in eight West Virginia infants had in-utero exposure to opioids, stimulants

Nearly one in eight infants born in West Virginia between 2020 and 2022 had in utero exposure to opioids, stimulants and/or cannabis, according to researchers at West Virginia University Health Sciences.

8 Feb 2023

Five major adverse pregnancy outcomes associated with long term risks of ischemic heart disease

Women who experience any of five major pregnancy complications, such as preterm birth and pre-eclampsia, show an increased risk of ischemic heart disease up to 46 years after delivery, finds a study from Sweden published by The BMJ today.

2 Feb 2023

Smoking during pregnancy reduces childhood brain growth in very preterm babies

Women who smoke during pregnancy have been found to run the risk of injuring brain development in their babies. A new study extends this finding to adolescent brain growth.

24 Jan 2023

'Epigenetic fingerprints' of prenatal alcohol exposure could be biomarkers to detect developmental disorders

Alcohol exposure in early pregnancy can change gene function during the tightly regulated embryonic development, and consequently cause developmental disorders - especially neurodevelopmental disorders.

3 Jan 2023

Unique resource for identifying new biomarkers of environmental exposures in early life

Researchers now have a unique resource for identifying new biomarkers of environmental exposures in early life and understanding their health effects.

22 Nov 2022

Health of mothers, fetuses, and children are all affected by the maternal environment

A recent editorial published in the journal BMC Medicine examined existing literature for associations between the mother's and offspring's health outcomes and a broad range of maternal characteristics related to pregnancy and postnatal phenotypes and complications.

3 Nov 2022

Study highlights the importance of poverty in criminal conviction

A significant reduction in childhood poverty could cut criminal convictions by almost a quarter, according to a study conducted in Brazil. An article on the study is published in Scientific Reports. The researchers used an innovative approach involving an analysis of 22 risk factors that affect human development and interviews with 1,905 children at two points – a first interview to form a baseline (mean age 10.3) and a follow-up interview seven years later (mean age 17.8).

2 Nov 2022

Is maternal caffeine consumption associated with child growth, and are such associations present in low-consumption groups?

A new paper published in JAMA Network Open discusses the relationship between caffeine consumption in pregnancy and the future growth of the offspring.

1 Nov 2022

Lower birth weight could lead to higher risk of developing neurodevelopmental problems

UiB research shows that being born to term with a weight lower than 3,5 kilos is related to a higher risk of developing neurodevelopmental problems such as cerebral palsy and autism.

28 Feb 2022

Periconceptional maternal smoking associated with delay in embryonic development

Smoking by mothers during the period immediately before and after conception is linked to a delay in embryonic development, smaller foetuses at the time of the 20-week ultrasound scan, and lower birth weight.

23 Feb 2022

Government announces two significant independent reviews to tackle health disparities

Plans to enable people across the country to live longer, healthier lives are moving forward with the government's announcement of leads for two significant independent reviews to tackle health disparities.

4 Feb 2022

Study finds large inequalities in pregnancy outcomes between ethnic, socioeconomic groups in England

A nationwide study of over 1 million births in the English National Health Service (NHS) between 2015 and 2017, published in The Lancet, has found large inequalities in pregnancy outcomes between ethnic and socioeconomic groups in England.

1 Nov 2021

Maternal vitamin D deficiency associated with higher risk of ASD in offspring

Maternal vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy was associated with 44% increased risk of ASD in the offspring when compared to mothers who had sufficient levels of vitamin D during pregnancy.

29 Oct 2021

Prenatal exposure to tobacco smoke and pollution associated with child behavioral problems

A pregnant woman's exposure to tobacco smoke and pollution from road traffic can influence the development of behavioral outcomes in early childhood.

27 Apr 2021

New report calls for comprehensive smoke-free policies

A new WHO report, Tobacco Control To Improve Child Health And Development, calls for raising awareness among practitioners and policymakers about the importance of strong tobacco control measures for protecting the health and development of children, including banning tobacco advertising, implementing 100% smoke-free environments and raising taxes on tobacco.

16 Mar 2021