Smoking during pregnancy may lead to artery problems for the baby
A new study shows that smoking during pregnancy may set the child up for artery problems in the future.
According to CBC News, the study suggests that children of women who smoke while pregnant have significantly thicker and denser arteries.
Thicker artery walls increase a person’s chance of obesity and heart disease.
Dutch scientists studied more than 250 children, according to WebMD. When the babies were four weeks old, their body dimensions and lung function were measured while their parents were questioned about habits such as smoking.
When the children were 5 years old, ultrasound technology was used to measure the thickness and flexibility of their carotid arteries, and their mothers were again questioned about their smoking habits.
The findings showed that the walls of the carotid arteries in 5-year-olds whose mothers had smoked during pregnancy were about 19 microns thicker, which is about about one to two times the thickness of a piece of cassette tape, and 15 percent stiffer than those whose mothers had not smoked.
If both of the child’s parents smoked, the numbers were even larer. The researchers did not find any effect if just the father smoked during the pregnancy or if the mother started smoking after birth.
According to CBC News, there was a trend that showed the more the parents or mother smoked, the harder and thicker the child’s arteries.
