Mothers who smoke during pregnancy put their children at greater risk of developing psychotic symptoms as teenagers, British scientists said today.
A UK survey of 12-year-olds found those whose mothers smoked were 20 per cent more likely to have psychotic-like symptoms such as hallucinations or delusions.
The researchers from four British universities found the link was 84 per cent more pronounced if mothers smoked 20 or more cigarettes a day. Read the rest of this entry »
Being Overweight or Obese Before Pregnancy May Be Tied to Increased Risk of Congenital Heart Defects
Women who are overweight or obese before getting pregnant may be more likely than leaner women to have babies born with heart defects, a new study shows.
The study, published in the advance online edition of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, included the mothers of 6,440 babies born with congenital heart defects between 1997 and 2004. Read the rest of this entry »
The number of women diagnosed with breast cancer during pregnancy or soon after giving birth has almost doubled since the 1960s, and researchers say cases will continue to rise as women have children later in life.
The incidence of pregnancy-associated breast cancer rose from 16 in every 100,000 deliveries to 37.4 per 100,000 deliveries between 1963 and 2002, a study has found.
Breast cancer was underdiagnosed in pregnant and breastfeeding women because they and their doctors assumed breast firmness or lumps were a normal part of childbearing, said the chief executive of the National Breast and Ovarian Cancer Centre, Helen Zorbas. Read the rest of this entry »
