As if there weren’t enough good reasons to quit smoking during pregnancy, it appears another can be added to the list. Quitting smoking may result in a more relaxed baby, according to researchers. It appears that a mother’s smoking habits may have an affect on the baby’s temperament.
The study was conducted by UK and US researchers at the University of Illinois and the University of York. The study looked at 18,000 infants. The mothers were classified into four groups: non smokers, smokers who quit during the pregnancy, very light smokers and heavy smokers.
Information was collected about the pregnancy, birth, health of the mother and child and socio-economic status in addition to smoking. The study was initially conducted during pregnancy with additional questions and nine months.
The study was published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. Researchers asked questions related to temperament, sleep habits, mood and eating patterns. These questions were used to score the infants’ temperaments.
The study found that the infants born to the group of heavy smokers had the lowest scores in terms of temperament. The group of babies born to the mothers who had quit smoking had the highest score, even higher than that of the babies of mothers who had never smoked at all.
This is very good news for smokers who are pregnant or are planning a pregnancy in the near future. The biggest complaints from new parents are generally in the area of sleep and temperament. If quitting smoking can make this even a little easier, it is well worth it.
Even if the study results are not confirmed by future research, there are a million good reasons to quit smoking. If you are pregnant and unable to quit, speak to your health care provider. They have resources to help you kick the habit.
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