A new report from the Surgeon General confirms that smoking during pregnancy causes babies to be born with cleft lip and cleft palate.

Couples who smoke around the time they conceive their child are almost twice as likely to have a girl, according to new research, which suggests tobacco ``kills'' male fetuses.

New York, June 23 (IANS) The sperm of men who smoke has a greater extent of DNA damage than that of non-smokers, says a new study that points to harmful effects of smoking on male fertility.

Women who smoke are more likely to experience infertility and miscarriage (spontaneous abortion). When a pregnant woman smokes, some toxins from the smoke can be passed to the fetus. These toxins can later affect an infant’s lung development and lung function. Babies of women who smoke are more likely to be born prematurely, to have a low birth weight, and to have slower initial growth. Smoking cessation within the first trimester lowers these health risks to a level comparable to those of people who have never smoked. Infants in households where there is a smoker are more likely to die from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Due to the fact that cigarette smoke contains more than 4000 harmful substances, there has long been concern that smoking could have adverse effects on male reproduction. Tobacco smoking leads to reduced semen quality including semen volume, sperm density, motility, viability, and normal morphology in smokers.

A new study in Denmark shows that women who quit smoking right before or soon after conception give birth to babies of similar birth weights, on average, as nonsmokers.

Low birth weight (5.5 pounds of less) can result from premature birth or growth-restriction during fetal life. Fetal or intrauterine growth restriction occurs when the baby is unable to achieve its genetically determined potential. Causes of low birth weight include parental smoking, maternal alcohol or drug abuse, pregnancy specific disorders including preeclampsia (a pregnancy specific disorder that occurs when the mother develops hypertension during pregnancy), problems with the placenta or poor maternal nutrition or prenatal care.

Some women keep smoking through pregnancy just because they want to give birth to a smaller baby, according to British researchers.

Smoking during pregnancy reduces the growth and health of babies and increases the risks of a number of complications and illnesses for both the mother and baby. Babies born to women who smoke during pregnancy have a greater chance of premature birth, low birth weight, stillbirth and infant mortality.1 Smoking during pregnancy can also affect the development of babies' lungs which increases the risk for many health problemsSmoking during pregnancy reduces the growth and health of babies and increases the risks of a number of complications and illnesses for both the mother and baby. Babies born to women who smoke during pregnancy have a greater chance of premature birth, low birth weight, stillbirth and infant mortality.1 Smoking during pregnancy can also affect the development of babies' lungs which increases the risk for many health problems.

Maternal smoking during pregnancy is associated with low birth weight. Common variation at rs1051730 is robustly associated with smoking quantity and was recently shown to influence smoking cessation during pregnancy, but its influence on birth weight is not clear. We aimed to investigate the association between this variant and birth weight of term, singleton offspring in a well-powered meta-analysis.

This study investigated the association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and low birth weight (LBW), small-for-gestational-age birth weight (SGA) and preterm birth. Maternal smoking during pregnancy was closely associated with LBW, SGA and preterm birth. A large proportion of these perinatal outcomes could have been prevented in Switzerland if maternal smoking had been avoided.