A new study conducted by British researchers revealed that pregnant women who quit smoking habit not only perk up their health, but also increase the chances of giving birth to an easygoing baby.

The study results published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health believes that babies of women, who did not give up smoking habit during pregnancy, were notably annoyed and irritable.

The scientists at Britain’s York University viewed more than 18,000 babies born between 2000 and 2002 as well as their mothers.

Depending upon the smoking status, the mothers were divided into four different groups, which were named as non-smokers during pregnancy, quitters, light smokers or heavy smokers (10 or more cigarettes per day).

The natures of the women’s babies were evaluated when they were nine months old. The study researchers used a familiar method designed to pick up on positive mood, openness to new things and normal sleeping and eating habits in babies.

The study discovered that women who quit smoking while their pregnancy had the most easy going infants as compared with the non-smokers and the smokers. In actual fact, their children had the lowest chances of irregular behavior and of getting upset while facing new situations or things.

The study also established that heavy or chain smokers had the most difficult children.

They also noted that giving up smoking during pregnancy is linked with an urge to protect the baby, rather than any intention to quit in the long run.

“Relapse rates are high after the birth. But it indicates the capacity to adapt to different circumstances and the ability to plan and to delay gratification, characteristics which seem to be missing in those who carry on smoking”, the researchers said.

The chemicals in cigarettes are harmful for the development of the brains of babies in the womb. Tobacco can affect the growth of a fetus and are also associated to low birth weight, birth defects and increased risk of cot death.