Smoking affects fertility of child

Study shows that when mothers smoke during and after pregnancy, it can have a negative affect on the fertility of their daughters.

Experts in the field of prenatal health and fetal exposure to nicotine and cigarette smoke have long known that babies can have negative short and long-term affects from smoking. However, groundbreaking research has recently been published in the December 2007 issue of Journal of Clinical Investigation.

This research shows that if there is a chemical pathway from the mother's use of nicotine both before pregnancy and during breastfeeding can reduce her daughter's production of eggs.

"Mothers, mice in this case, exposed to PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) -- environmental pollutants found in cigarette smoke, car exhaust, smoke produced by fossil fuel combustion, as well as in smoked food --before pregnancy and/or during breast-feeding, but not during pregnancy, can cause a reduction in the number of eggs in the ovaries of their female offspring by two-thirds. This limits the window in which the daughter will be able to reproduce," explained lead researcher Dr. Andrea Jurisicova.

Find out even more about secondary smoke during pregnancy as well as other things to avoid to protect your baby.

Brenda