A new report published in this month's issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine indicates that antibiotic use by mothers during pregnancy may cause asthma in newborns. As part of a study conducted by researchers from the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom, 24,690 British children were examined. Over 20 percent of the subjects-whose mothers had used antibiotics during pregnancy-were diagnosed with asthma.

In the report, researchers reveal that antibiotics can "cross the placenta and enter the fetal circulation," leading to the onset of the respiratory disorder. According to the report, the study is the first to associate antibiotic use and the development of asthma in children.