Researching potential e-cigarette risk in pregnancy

Our psychologists say e-cigarettes might not be a safer alternative to smoking during pregnancy and have called for more awareness of the risks. E-cigarettes are often considered a less harmful alternative to traditional cigarettes as they don't produce toxins, like carbon monoxide, but they do contain nicotine. So our researchers carried out the first known study into the effects of prenatal nicotine exposure on babies. Abnormal reflexes They found that babies of mothers who used e-cigarettes during pregnancy had similar abnormal reflexes to infants whose mothers smoked cigarettes. This can include babies not grasping a finger with their hand or not being startled if the hand supporting their head is suddenly removed. This can be a sign of impaired brain development. The birthweight, gestation period and head circumference of babies born to mothers who used e-cigarettes during pregnancy were the same as those of babies born to mothers who did not smoke.