Association of Maternal Smoking During Pregnancy With Infant Hospitalization and Mortality Due to Infectious Diseases
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A study published January 2013 in the journal Pediatric Infectious Diseases found that infants whose mothers smoked during pregnancy were 50 percent more likely to be hospitalized or to die from a wide number of infectious diseases, compared to babies of mothers who did not smoke. Smoking during pregnancy may weaken an infant’s immune system and put them at increased risk for a broad range of infections. Read a October 21, 2013 HealthDay.com news article and the study abstract.