Smoking while pregnant linked to children's behavioral issues

Mothers who smoke during pregnancy are more likely to have children with conduct disorder (CD), according to a study published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.

Researchers at the University of Leicester in the UK analyzed the relationship between smoking during pregnancy and the risk of the child developing CD. CD is a behavioral problem where a child can become highly aggressive, antisocial and defiant.

The researchers looked at the levels of smoking during pregnancy, which were measured by the average number of cigarettes pregnant mothers smoked each day.

Results revealed that children had a higher risk of developing CD if their mothers smoked during pregnancy, compared with mothers who did not smoke. This was the finding in both the children who were reared by genetically related mothers and those reared by genetically unrelated mothers.

Additionally, mothers who smoked more than 10 cigarettes a day had an even higher risk of their child developing CD.

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