SYDNEY, March 29 (Xinhua) -- A new study by the University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney) has suggested that acute respiratory infection in the first trimester of pregnancy is associated with a higher risk of some cardiovascular anomalies in babies.

The study, which was published in BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth journal on March 24, examined more than 1.4 million birth records in the Australian state of New South Wales between 2001 and 2016.

Of the records, 1,547 mothers reported acute respiratory infections, 399 reported influenza, and 129 reported high-risk infections during the first trimester of pregnancy.

According to the study, during the first trimester, only selected major cardiovascular congenital anomalies were significantly associated with acute respiratory infections in multivariate analysis.

The odds of developing selected major cardiovascular congenital anomalies were three times higher, if the mother had an acute respiratory infection during the first trimester of pregnancy.

Maternal infections during pregnancy can have serious implications for babies, including anomalies in the body's structure or function that are present at birth, for example, Down syndrome and neural tube defects.

Abrar Chughtai, lead author and senior lecturer at the UNSW Sydney, said on Wednesday that the link between respiratory infections early in pregnancy and cardiac defects could be attributed to various reasons.

"For example, some infectious diseases may pass directly to the baby across the placenta, leading to problems in development," Chughtai said.

"Another reason is use of medications," he added. "The mother may need to take antibiotics or some other drugs to treat infections. These may indirectly affect the baby."

The researchers recommend avoiding respiratory infections during pregnancy as much as possible and using preventive measures, such as vaccination against respiratory pathogens to protect against congenital abnormalities. Enditem

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