Pre-natal smoking & behavior problems....

[Dr Mordrid]

Doesn't suprise me in the least;

http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060713_cigarette_toddlers.html

Smoke in the Womb Makes Unruly Toddlers

By Ker Than
LiveScience Staff Writer
posted: 13 July 2006
12:42 pm ET

A new study finds that unborn babies regularly exposed to cigarette smoke in the womb are much more likely to have behavioral problems as young children.

The study, detailed in current issue of the journal Child Development, is the first to show a link between smoking during pregnancy and child behavior problems in the first years of life.

The researchers found that 2-year-olds whose mothers were exposed to cigarette smoke while pregnant were nearly 12 times more likely to show clinical levels of behavioral problems compared to their unexposed peers.

The researchers looked at 93 children between their first and second birthdays. Forty-four were exposed to cigarette smoke before birth; among those exposed, nearly half of their mothers reported smoking more than half a pack a day.

Dr. Mordrid

[Brian Ellis]

"unborn babies regularly exposed to cigarette smoke in the womb " The mind boggles: never heard of ciggies being smoked that way!

Seriously, and I say this as an ex-smoker (60-70/day), do you not think that there is more fuss than science in the effects of tobacco use, especially on 3rd parties. While I am not saying that there may not be some truth in the allegations made, a cohort of 44 smokers is not statistically valid. In the epidemiological studies I've been involved in regarding the toxic effects of halocarbon solvent exposure, the minimum cohort was 3,000, sometimes going up to more than 10,000. This is just false science designed for alarmism.

You accept this rubbish willingly, which is not worth the paper it is written on, yet you reject much stronger statistical evidence on climate change. Do you have an agenda?

[Dr Mordrid]

No, I don't. While I'm an asthmatic I don't go nutsy on people for smoking. I just don't allow it in my house and if someone lights up at theirs I go outside.

What I do understand though is the effect of tobacco on a developing fetus. They are far more sensitive to such things than either a child or adult. This is why they frown strongly on even a single drink of alcohol during pregnancy.

Tobacco is much, much worse in terms of its mutagenic effects, and during early gestation it can do its worst damage. I won't even go into its radioisotope content when farmed with mined phosphates.

Dr. Mordrid

[ZokesPro]

My girlfriend's cousin smoked a lot of weed and a lot of cigarettes when she was pregnant with her daughter, and she is a real monster. Hyperactive, doesn't listen, goes into fits, but some of that is bad parenting and a bad environement.

When my girlfriend and I are looking the little one, she's not so bad, but she still goes into fits every now and then and there's not much that can be done. I think that the weed had more of a negative effect on the child than the cigarettes, but who knows, she consumed about the same of both.

[cjolley]

...and she is a real monster. Hyperactive, doesn't listen, goes into fits, but some of that is bad parenting and a bad environement.

And this differs from normal in what way?
How old is she?

[ZokesPro]

And this differs from normal in what way?
How old is she?

Hehe, I know, sounds like the typical 5 year old.
But I'm sure that the marijuna her mother smoked while pregnant whith didn't help in any way. She does have speech problems.

[KRSESQ]

An interesting government report on pre-natal drug exposure

Marijuana
Much of the research on the prenatal effects of marijuana has associated heavy use with the following:

low birthweight (Zuckerman et al. 1989; Kline, Stein, & Hutzler 1987; Fried et al. 1987; Hatch & Bracken 1986)
a shortened gestational period (Fried, Watkinson, & Willan 1984)
meconium staining and complications in delivery (Greenland et al. 1982)
neonatal neurobiological abnormalities (Lester & Dreher 1989; Fried 1985)
Differences between children of marijuana-using and nonusing mothers often disappear when demographic characteristics and other confounding factors are controlled for (O'Connell & Fried 1991; Linn et al. 1983; Gibson, Bayhurst, & Collry 1983). For example, Fried (1985) found no significant differences between matched marijuana-using and nonusing samples in terms of miscarriage rates, birth presentations, Apgar scores, and frequency of birth complications or major abnormalities. (See also Day et al. [1991] and Abel [1985] for lack of consequential effects.)

Fried and Watkinson (1990) reported that:

At 48 months, significantly lower scores in verbal and memory domains were associated with maternal marijuana use after adjusting for confounding variables. This negative relationship is the first reported association beyond the prenatal stage, and may represent a long-term effect of the drug upon complex behavior that, at a younger age, had not developed and/or could not be assessed.[italics mine]

Contradictory findings resulting from the research on prenatal exposure to marijuana may arise from an inability to control dosage and the purity (and strength) of the marijuana being used.

Needless to say, the use of ANY alcohol, tobacco, or drugs (legal or not) is STRONGLY contraindicated during pregnancy.

Kevin

[Brian Ellis]

It is extremely difficult to do valid epidemiological studies. We all hear anecdotes like the 44 cases in the OP or ZP's cousin's kid, but these are statistically meaningless.

A study like this must include:
- a large cohort of persons subjected to a potential toxin, from all walks of life, habitats and life styles
- an equal control cohort of persons not subjected to the toxin, but also from all walks of life, habitats and life styles
- is the mother single or in a family relationship, if latter, good, bad or indifferent in quality; does the father come home drunk from binges?
- age of the mother at conception or birth
- term of pregnancy
- caesarean or natural childbirth, length of labour, use of forceps etc.
- health problems
- a profound analysis of all known potential confounding factors, such as, in this case, the weed, alcohol, other drugs, medications etc.
- the exposure level of the individuals to the toxin (ciggies/day)
- period of exposure to the toxin (individuals who did not smoke during the whole pregnancy or who smoked for 0, 1, 5, 10 or more years prior to the pregnancy etc.)
- observed differences with breast-fed and bottle-fed babies: toxin exposure during breast feeding, toxins in the milk etc.
- observed behavioural problems and at what ages. Are they similar in type or do you have different problems
- differences between the sex of the babies
- probably several more factors that I can't think of offhand

Only by weighing up all these variables in a computer with intense numbercrunching can any statistically valid data be produced as to the likelihood of a correlation between smoking during pregnancy and childhood behaviour patterns be made.

When I read the cohort was only 44, I nearly fell off my chair. This would not cover a tiny fraction of the confounding factors. There is no credibility in this report to anyone with just a smattering of knowledge of how epidemiology is conducted.

Finally, I'm not recommending that mother-to-be smoke, drink excessive alcohol or use drugs, of course. Commonsense would dictate that much more than bad science.

[ZokesPro]

An interesting government report on pre-natal drug exposure



Needless to say, the use of ANY alcohol, tobacco, or drugs (legal or not) is STRONGLY contraindicated during pregnancy.

Kevin

Wow KRSESQ! The mother I,m talking about pretty much experienced just that!

low birthweight : Check
a shortened gestational period : Check
meconium staining and complications in delivery : Check
neonatal neurobiological abnormalities : Dunno