Non-smoking pregnant women exposed to cigarette smoke are more likely to give birth to stillborn babies or babies with birth defects than women who do not have to passively smoke, according to an analysis of 19 studies from around the world.
A paper by British scientists at the University of Nottingham will appear in the April issue of Pediatrics.
According to the researchers, the results of the analysis prove how important it is not only to encourage mothers not to smoke when they are expecting a baby, but also to encourage fathers not to smoke in the presence of a partner. Women should be made aware of the dangers of passive smoking both during and before pregnancy.
Tobacco smoke contains well over 4000 different compounds, of which several dozen are toxic and carcinogenic.
It is known that smoking during pregnancy is a factor that seriously threatens the health of the unborn child, as it increases the risk of fetal death, premature birth and low body weight of the newborn, and a number of serious birth defects, such as cleft palate, foot deformities or heart defects – comments the co-author of the article Dr. Jo Leonardi-Bee.
And because secondhand smoke exposes women to the same set of toxins in cigarette smoke as active smoking – albeit in lower concentrations – it is logical that it may increase the risk of the same complications, the researcher explains.
To verify this hypothesis, Dr. Leonardi-Bee and his colleagues analyzed data collected from 19 studies conducted in different regions of the world – North and South America, Asia and Europe. They were all related to pregnant women who did not smoke themselves but were exposed to cigarette smoke at home where their partner smoked or at work because of their colleagues smoking.
After analyzing the collected data, it turned out that passive smoking increased the risk of stillbirth by almost a quarter (23%) and was related to a 13% higher risk. the likelihood of birth defects in toddlers.
We still do not know whether this is the result of passive inhalation of cigarette smoke by the mother or the direct impact of smoking on his father’s sperm, or both, Dr. Leonardi-Bee points out.
More research is needed to explain this. However, the negative effects of smoking on sperm development are well known, so it is very important that men stop smoking before trying for a baby. They should also not smoke in front of their partner, not only when she is already pregnant, but also when she is trying to get into her, because it is not known exactly in which period of the child’s development cigarette smoke begins to exert its negative influence.
The risk is related to the number of cigarettes smoked – data show that exposure to smoke from about 10 or more cigarettes a day is enough to increase. That is why it is important for men to at least reduce smoking. However, it is in the best interest of their partner and unborn child that they stop smoking completely, says Dr. Leonardi-Bee.
In her opinion, it may be a good option for your partner to use nicotine replacement therapy, or to refrain from smoking at home or in the car when traveling with a pregnant woman. (PAP)