Quit smoking, pregnant women urged
WOMEN who stop smoking as late as when pregnancy is confirmed can dramatically boost the health of their baby, scientists said yesterday.
In the largest study of its kind, researchers led by Prof Nick Macklon, a consultant gynaecologist at the Complete Fertility Centre at the Princess Anne Hospital in Southampton, studied the outcomes of 50,000 pregnancies.
They found that women who gave up smoking at the time of conception or when their pregnancy was confirmed gave birth to babies with a similar weight to those born to mothers who had never smoked, cutting the risk of complications associated with low birth weight.
Prof Macklon said that healthy development during pregnancy without exposure to smoke also helped to limit the chances of premature birth, which can cause brain damage and congenital defects.