DOCTORS in Perth, Western Australia, have found that babies who were exposed to cigarette smoke in the womb continue to have problems after birth and, throughout life, with a greater tendency to suffer reduced respiratory function.
Researchers studied 500 babies with a technique known as plethysmography. In this method, wire coils placed around the chest and abdomen record changes in electrical impedance as the chest wall moves during breathing. Low scores for respiratory function were measured in babies whose mothers smoked during pregnancy, who had a first degree relative with asthma and whose blood pressure was raised before or during pregnancy. While the meaning of the low score is not yet known, doctors know that a low score in older children and adults is associated with airway obstruction. They concluded young infants with low values are more likely to develop wheezing lower respiratory tract illnesses.