Vitamin C may offset effects of maternal smoking on baby

Although smoking during pregnancy is reported to have an adverse effect on foetus health a new study shows that regular intake of Vitamin C by smoker momtobe may help reduce the harm done to infants lungs after birthThe study showed that at three months of age infants whose mothers took 500 mg of Vitamin C per day in addition to their prenatal vitamin had significantly better forced expiratory flows FEFs that measure how fast air can be exhaled from the lung and can detect airway obstructionIn addition the researchers also found an association between the infant FEFs and a genetic variant some of the mothers possessed that increased the negative impact of nicotine on the babies before they were bornSmoking during pregnancy reflects the highly addictive nature of nicotine that disproportionately affects the most vulnerable populations said lead author Cindy T McEvoy Professor from the Oregon Health and Science University in the USFinding a way to help infants exposed to smoking and nicotine in uterus recognises the unique dangers posed by a highly advertised addictive product and the lifetime effects on offspring who did not choose to be exposed McEvoy addedFor the study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine the team randomly assigned 251 pregnant women who smoked to either receive vitamin C 125 women or a placebo 126 womenThe study also demonstrated that all participants received counselling sessions of discontinuing tobacco smoking throughout the study and about 10 per cent of the women quit smoking during the studyThe researchers mentioned that helping mothers quit smoking should remain the primary goal for health professionals and public health officialsAlthough vitamin C supplementation may protect to some extent the lungs of babies born to mothers who smoke during pregnancy those children will still be at greater risk for obesity behavioural disorders and other serious health issues the team notedCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Except for the change in the headline the story has been provided ASIS AS AVAILABLE without any verification or editing from our side Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever