Mobile use in pregnancy ups kid's bad behaviour

LONDON: Pregnant women who regularly use mobile phones are likely to up the risk of bad behaviour in their children.

If their offspring then start using the devices at an early age, the chances of problems rise to 50 percent, according to researchers.

They found that those exposed to mobile phones in the womb had a 30 percent rise in behavioural difficulties at the age of seven, reports the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, which also mirrored an earlier study by the survey team.

Leeka Kheifets from University of California in Los Angeles who led the study said both sets of results "demonstrated that cell phone use was associated with behavioural problems at age seven years."

Those exposed before birth and in their childhood were 50 percent more likely to have behavioural problems than those exposed to neither, according to the Daily Mail.

Children who used mobiles but were not exposed in the womb were 20 percent more likely to display abnormal behaviour. However, some British scientists were sceptical, saying the findings may be due to lifestyle factors rather than mobiles.

In the study of 29,000 youngsters, mothers provided details of their lifestyle, diet and environment during and after pregnancy.