Smoking during pregnancy damages the placenta and reduces levels of growth hormone, resulting in smaller infants with smaller brains, a conferemce heard today.

"The profound effects of smoking on foetal development are irreversible and may cause impairment in the health and well-being of the offspring in later life," said Dr. Peter Hindmarsh of University College London at the annual meeting of the British Endocrine Societies in Glasgow. "In particular, the reduced brain size that we saw in smokers' babies could lead to impaired cognitive ability of the child," he said. Dr Hindmarsh's team studied 1650 pregnant women who delivered at term, including about 200 smokers. They measured blood flow between the foetus and placenta and monitored levels of insulin-like growth factors (IGF), which are essential for foetal growth and organ development. After birth, the researchers weighed the newborns and measured their head size, an indicator of brain size. The researchers found that uterine artery blood flow was lower in women who smoked, causing damage to the placenta and restricting the delivery of essential nutrients.

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