Many people are familiar with the health effects of cigarette smoking and secondhand smoke. Research has also tied smoking during pregnancy to later health and behavior problems in children.

This podcast round-up features three interviews with NICHD grantees interested in the connections between maternal smoking and child health.

Select a link below to learn more.

• NIH-funded analysis identifies patterns of nicotine use across generations (4/21/2014)
  Dr. Laura S. Stroud, of Brown University’s Alpert Medical School in Rhode Island, discusses her research finding that daughters whose mothers smoked during pregnancy are themselves more likely to become smokers.
• Lab animal study suggests smoking during pregnancy places descendants at risk for asthma (8/19/13)
  Dr. Virender Rehan, of the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, highlights his study of rats given nicotine during their pregnancies (as an animal model substitute for pregnant smokers). Dr. Rehan and his colleagues found evidence that an increased risk of asthma was conveyed through generations, to the animals’ grandchildren and even great grandchildren.
• Maternal smoking during pregnancy linked to children’s behavior problems, NIH-funded study shows (7/31/2013)
  Dr. Leslie Leve of the University of Oregon talks about a strong association she discovered between mothers’ smoking during pregnancy and the chances that their children would later have behavioral problems in school. Her study included children who were adopted, to better separate genetic and environmental influences.

If you smoke and want to quit, there’s help. Visit http://smokefree.gov/ for more information and resources.

WEBSITE SOURCE: https://www.nichd.nih.gov/news/resources/spotlight/Pages/080514-maternal-smoking.aspx