A new study has discovered another danger associated with smoking during pregnancy. There are so many risks that come with smoking when you’re expecting, but despite this being public knowledge people continue to do so.
The study found that maternal smoking during pregnancy was associated with a 46 percent increased risk that offspring will develop strabismus.
Strabismus is one of the most prevalent eye-related diseases among children. This condition means one eye looks directly at the object you are viewing, while the other eye is misaligned inward.
It is most commonly known as being cross-eyed.
Pregnant women who smoked up to 10 cigarettes a day increased the risk of their child developing strabismus to 79 percent.
The researchers said: “Strabismus can contribute to visual impairment and emotional problems.”
Senior author of the study, Dr Zuxun Lu said: “Maternal smoking during pregnancy is an important public health problem, particularly in developed countries, and its effect on offspring eye health deserves our attention.”
Smoking during pregnancy is extremely harmful, even when you only smoke a handful of cigarettes. When you smoke you breathe in nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide and around 4,000 other chemicals. These substances then build up in your lungs and get into your bloodstream – these can then get into your baby’s bloodstream through yours.
Smoking during pregnancy can also increase the risk of preterm delivery, low birth weight, weaker lungs and miscarriage by 30 to 50 percent.
