Light smoking is also linked to complicated births, even if the mother quits during pregnancy.
Smoking just one or two cigarettes a day before or during pregnancy can cause serious health problems in newbornsaccording to a new study of more than 12 million families.
It is estimated that the 1.7% of pregnant women in the world smokealthough that rate is 8.1% in Europe and 5.9% in America. Smoking during pregnancy can negatively affect the health of the newborn, increasing the risk of premature birth, low birth weight, restricted infant growth, and even death.
In the study, published in the revista ‘Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health’the researchers analyzed the relationship between smoking and major neonatal complications, such as the need for assisted ventilation immediately after birth, admission to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) with ventilation, suspected sepsis, seizures or neurological dysfunction.
About 9.5% of babies suffered from one of these problems. However, the researchers found that it was 27% more likely to suffer several of these complications if their mother smoked before pregnancy, and 31% more likely if she smoked at some point during pregnancy.
Although researchers have long known about the contraindications related to smoking during pregnancy, the new study indicates that even smoking little is not safenot even in the months before pregnancy.
“Any smoking habit during pregnancy has an impact on the baby’s outcomes,” Caitlin Notley, director of the addiction research group at the University of East Anglia (England), told ‘Euronews Health’. Notley was not involved in the investigation.
The study, which included almost 12.2 million mothers and their children in the US, found that health risks remained even after researchers adjusted for other factors, such as age, ethnicity and weight. Women with hypertension or diabetes were not included. Among the mothers in the study, 9.3% smoked before pregnancy, while 7% did so in the first trimester, 6% in the second and 5.7% in the third.
It’s not enough to quit smoking
According to the study, neonatal outcomes were worse among women who smoked late in pregnancy; but those who quit smoking during pregnancy remained at higher risk of poor neonatal outcomes than those who did not smoke at all.
The risks were also greater for heavy smokers. Children of women who smoked 20 or more cigarettes a day were 29% more likely to be admitted to intensive care, according to the study. However, those who smoked only one or two cigarettes a day had a 13% higher risk of being admitted to the NICU.
“It is clear that it is not enough to stop smoking, especially during pregnancy,” said Notley, who insisted on the need to “stop smoking completely” to protect the health of babies.
Pregnant women may have a harder time quitting smoking because nicotine metabolism accelerates during pregnancy, which means the body absorbs it more quickly, Notley added.
He also noted that pregnant women trying to quit smoking can try replacement therapiessuch as nicotine gum, and opt for a higher dose if they continue to resort to cigarettes.
They can also replace traditional cigarettes with electronic cigarettes, which contain nicotine but not tobacco. The research is contradictory on the effects of vaping on pregnancy outcomes. “This is a harm reduction approach that is basically doing everything you can to help women quit smoking,” Notley said.
