Beware! Smoking During Pregnancy Can Increase Asthma Risk In Babies

Any form of exposure to cigarette smoke during pregnancy or when the baby is three to 15 months old, asthma and wheeze risk in babies’ increases, a new study suggests. The study was conducted on 376 newborn babies and detailed information on the exposure to smoke during pregnancy and in the home when the baby was three to 15 months old was obtained from the parents.
Until six years of age, asthma, wheezing and demographic data were obtained with the help of yearly questionnaires. The Dr Philip Pattemore University of Otago Christchurch, in New Zealand, was the lead author of this study. He explained that hair nicotine increases every day with cigarette smoking in the house and was strongly linked with pregnancy smoking.
Though the overall hair nicotine was quite low in the participants, higher hair nicotine levels were strongly linked with an increased risk of wheeze and asthma at an age of just 15 months. At older ages, these associations were not quite significant. The research was published in the Journal of Pediatric Pulmonology.
Here’s how smoking during pregnancy can affect your baby:
1. It reduces oxygen supply for you and your baby
2. The baby’s heart rate increases
3. Miscarriage and stillbirth risk is increased
4. Risk of premature birth and low birth weight increases
5. Baby’s respiratory development gets disturbed
6. Disorders in your baby like learning disorders and behavioural issues
7. Placental abruption leading to excess bleeding which is life-threatening for the mother and the baby
8. Disrupted structure of the heart and congenital heart defects in the baby
9. Increased risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
With inputs from ANI