Smoking during pregnancy jeopardizes academic performance of unborn babies, study finds

Smoking damages almost every part of your body. But if you smoke during pregnancy, the toxic chemicals in tobacco can also harm your unborn baby. New research shows it can lead to lower academic performance in school.

The research is published in the diary Addictive behavior.

A systematic review of 19 studies involving 1.25 million participants found that researchers from the University of South Australia, along with a team from Curtin University, SAHMRI, Harvard University and others, reported reduced school performance in children exposed to maternal smoking during pregnancy in 79% of studies.

An additional meta-analysis of eight primary studies including 723,877 participants found that children exposed to maternal tobacco smoke during pregnancy were 49% more likely to have poor school performance than children who were not exposed to tobacco smoke in the womb.

In Australia, 8.7% (or 26,433) of all mothers who gave birth in 2021 smoked at some point during their pregnancy.

Lead researcher Dr Bereket Duko from UniSA says that despite what is already known about smoking, research is still ongoing into additional negative effects.

“For decades, agencies around the world have promoted anti-smoking campaigns about the dangers of smoking. Yet despite these efforts, smoking remains a widespread global public health problem,” says Dr. Bereket. “Prenatal smoking is known to cause multiple pregnancy complications, including increased risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, impaired growth and development, and serious birth defects. It is also associated with negative mental health outcomes and behavioral problems.

“Our new research adds to this by showing that maternal smoking during pregnancy carries a significant risk of limiting a child’s academic performance, causing them to fall far behind their peers at school. We all want children to have the best start in life. But it’s clear that we need to do a better job of educating mothers and families about the harmful effects of smoking during pregnancy on both mother and baby.

“Remember, the battle against smoking is not one that we have won yet. Yes, we have made great strides in reducing the number of smokers and we have made many people aware of the health risks. But this is an ongoing battle and we must continue to educate people about the dangers of tobacco so that future generations do not suffer unnecessarily.”