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Tracy Hampton, PhD

JAMA. 2006;295:879.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Women thinking of starting a family have likely heard that smoking may increase their risks of infertility, ectopic pregnancy, and spontaneous abortion. Now they have another reason to steer clear of cigarettes. In the largest study of its kind, plastic surgeons found that smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of having a child with excess, webbed, or missing fingers and toes.

The study, appearing in the January issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, revealed that smoking a half of a pack per day or less significantly increases the risk of having a child born with such digit defects (Man LX and Chang B. Plastic Reconstr Surg. 2006;117:301-308).

A large study reveals that smoking even 10 cigarettes or fewer per day during pregnancy increases the risk of having a child born with excess, webbed, or missing fingers and toes. (Photo credit: www.sciencesource.com)

SURPRISING FINDINGS

Polydactyly (more than . . . [Full Text of this Article]