Smoking In Pregnancy May Be Linked to Babies Who Grow Up As Criminal Offenders

A new study has pointed out that mothers who smoke heavily during pregnancy are more likely to have kids who grow up to become repeat criminal offenders.

Mothers who didn't give up smoking when pregnant, a new study has pointed out, are more likely to have kids who grow up to become repeat criminal offenders.

The findings held true even after other factors statistically associated with criminal behaviour - mental illness and deprivation - were ruled out, the study found.

Health Hazards of Smoking Cigarettes
Smoking causes many diseases and affects the overall health of smokers.

Experts found an increased risk for women who smoked 20 or more cigarettes a day during pregnancy.

The researchers reviewed the health and criminal records of almost 4,000 American adults aged between 33 and 40 years old, who were part of a long-term health study in Rhode Island designed to track the long-term effects on children of conditions during pregnancy and around birth.

Information was collected about the smoking habits of the mothers, who were enrolled in the study between 1959 and 1966, during pregnancy.

Pregnancy and Antenatal Care
What is Antenatal care and its importance during pregnancy for mother and baby, with details on the medical test preformed during the first visit to the doctor.

In 1999/2000, when their children were aged at least 33, criminal record checks were carried out on the offspring.

The results showed that those children whose mothers smoked heavily were 30 percent more likely to have been arrested as those whose mothers never smoked, and were more likely to be repeat criminal offenders.

Heavy Smoking In Pregnancy Tied To Criminal Behaviour In Offspring
Mothers who puff a pack a day or more while pregnant run a 30-percent higher risk of having kids who become criminal offenders, according to a study published Tuesday.

The findings were the same for both men and women.

"While we cannot definitively conclude that maternal smoking during pregnancy (particularly heavy smoking) is a causal risk factor for adult criminal offending, the current findings do support a modest causal relationship," concluded the researchers.

Government Targets to Cut Smoking in Pregnancy �unrealistic�
National targets to reduce smoking in pregnancy are unreliable and unrealistic because they are based on incomplete data, argues a midwife in this week’s BMJ.

The study appears in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

Source-ANI