Chicago Tribune: Child Heart Defect Linked with Smoking by Mother & Secondhand Smoke

Article in the Chicago Tribune -- Mom smoking, heart defect linked, by Ronald Kotulak:

Smoking cigarettes just before becoming pregnant and shortly thereafter may increase a woman's risk of having a baby with a congenital heart defect by 60 to 80 percent, according to a report presented Tuesday at a meeting of the American Heart Association in McCormick Place.

And women who are exposed to second-hand smoke in the workplace or at home may also increase their risk of bearing infants with such defects, said Dr. Sadia Malik, a pediatric cardiologist at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, the study's lead author.

"We found a 30 percent higher risk of having a child with congenital heart disease if you're exposed to cigarette smoke at home or the workplace," she said.

BGS