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Smoking in pregnancy and subsequent development of the child
Insights
Maternal smoking during pregnancy is linked to lower child academic achievement and, for boys, reduced height by age 16. The study also found inconsistent links to respiratory issues, questioning direct causality.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
Background:
- The National Child Development Study (NCDS) provides longitudinal data on child development.
- Previous research has explored the impact of maternal smoking on early child development.
- Extending previous analyses to age 16 offers a more comprehensive understanding of long-term effects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the long-term relationship between maternal smoking during pregnancy and child development up to age 16.
- To investigate the association between prenatal smoking and academic attainment (reading, mathematics), height, and respiratory health.
- To control for confounding background factors and discuss causality.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the National Child Development Study (NCDS).
- Employed statistical analyses to assess relationships between maternal smoking and child outcomes at age 16.
- Adjusted for a wide range of relevant background factors to isolate the effects of smoking.
Main Results:
- Maternal smoking during pregnancy remained significantly associated with lower reading and mathematics attainment by age 16, even after controlling for background factors.
- A notable association was found between maternal smoking and increased height in boys, but not in girls.
- The relationship between prenatal smoking and the incidence of asthma and wheezy bronchitis in children was inconsistent.
Conclusions:
- Maternal smoking during pregnancy has persistent negative associations with cognitive development and, for boys, physical growth.
- The findings suggest that the impact of maternal smoking extends into adolescence, affecting academic performance.
- Further research is needed to clarify the causal pathways and address the inconsistent findings regarding respiratory conditions.
Abstract:
Data from the National Child Development Study have been used to examine the relationship between mother's smoking during pregnancy and neonatal mortality, birthweight and the subsequent development of the child to the age of 11. In this paper analyses are reported which extend this work to examine development by the age of 16. After allowing for a wide range of related background factors, it is found that mothers smoking during pregnancy continues to be related to the child's reading and mathematics attainment. For boys, but not girls, there is an association with height. An inconsistent relationship is found with the child's history of asthma and wheezy bronchitis. Some doubts about the direct causality of such relationships are discussed.