One cigarette a day in pregnancy can spur death risk for baby

New York: Just one cigarette a day during pregnancy can double the risk of sudden unexpected infant death (SUID), warned a study. SUID is defined as sudden and unexpected death of a baby below one year of age, in which the cause is not obvious before investigation. For women, who smoked an average of 1-20 cigarettes a day, the odds of SUID increased by 0.07 with each additional cigarette, according to the study.

“With this information, doctors can better counsel pregnant women about their smoking habits, knowing that the number of cigarettes smoked daily during pregnancy significantly increase the risk of SUID,” said lead author Tatiana Anderson, from the Seattle Children’s Research Institute. Women who reduced smoking by the third trimester saw a 12 per cent decrease in SUID risk. Quitting smoking was associated with a 23 per cent reduction in the risk. (IANS)

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