Pregnant teen smoked 20 cigarettes daily
"Where's the proof that it's bad to smoke?"
Wed 1 Jun, 2011 12:00 am BST
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Charlie Wilcox, 20, from Rainham, Kent, was warned that smoking while pregnant restricted the amount of oxygen available to her unborn baby. However, she believed that this would make her unborn baby's heart work harder.
Appearing on BBC3's Misbehaving Mums To Be, she said: It's making the baby use its heart on its own in the first place, so that when it comes out, its going to be able to do those things by itself.
"Where's the proof that it's so bad to smoke?
When pregnant, tests showed that the levels of carbon monoxide in Ms Wilcox's blood were six times higher than those considered safe.
Carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke competes with oxygen in the blood, lowering the amount of oxygen available to the unborn baby's developing organs and tissues, one of the reasons why smokers are more likely to give birth prematurely or to babies of a low birth weight.
Ms Wilcox said she generally smoked around 15 to 20 cigarettes a day during the first six months of pregnancy, but cut back to around five a day for the remainder of the pregnancy.
When her daughter Lilly was born - ten days early - she weighed 6lb 2oz, more than 1lb less than the UK average.
Reasons to kick the habit while pregnant
Babies born to smokers:- Are more likely to be born prematurely, and with a low birth weight
- Are twice as likely to die from cot death
- Are more likely to suffer from respiratory, and other infections
- Have poorer lung function
- Have organs that are smaller on average than babies born to non-smokers
- Are more likely to become smokers themselves in later years
Cutting back on the number of cigarettes smoked, as Ms Wilcox did, may seem to be a step in the right direction. However, some smokers who do this often start inhaling more deeply, so that the amount of carcinogens and poisons reaching the bloodstream is similar.
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The real risks of smoking when pregnant
Multiple threats to infant health
Mon 5 Mar, 2012 12:00 am GMT
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She admits her behaviour is bad, but told The People newspaper that her doctor said it would be "more stressful" to her body if she quit suddenly.
Smoking in pregnancy is a risky business. Some mothers may point to their thriving baby as evidence that smoking during pregnancy never did their child any harm, but there is a mountain of evidence to suggest that the opposite is true.
[Related story: Birth defects linked to smoking]
Reasons to kick the habit while pregnant
Babies born to smokers:- Are more likely to be born prematurely, and with a low birth weight
- Are twice as likely to die from cot death
- Are more likely to suffer from respiratory, and other infections
- Have poorer lung function
- Have organs that are smaller on average than babies born to non-smokers
- Are more likely to become smokers themselves in later years
Cutting back on the number of cigarettes smoked may seem to be a step in the right direction. However, some smokers who do this often start inhaling more deeply, so that the amount of carcinogens and poisons reaching the bloodstream is similar.
NHS information on how to quit smoking: Smokefree
Specific birth defects associated with smoking identified
Deformed limbs, clubfoot, facial disorders
Tue 12 Jul, 2011 01:00 pm BST
© Wendy Kaveney - Fotolia.com
Missing or deformed limbs, clubfoot, facial disorders and gastrointestinal problems were some of the most common birth defects found to be linked to smoking during pregnancy, scientists at University College London said.
The researchers reached their conclusion after analysing 172 research papers which had been published in the past 50 years, covering 174,000 cases of malformation alongside 11.7m control births.
It found that by smoking risk was increased by 26% for having a baby with missing or deformed limbs, 28% for clubfoot, 27% for gastrointestinal defects, 33% for skull defects, 25% for eye defects, and 28% for cleft lip/palate. The greatest increase in risk, 50%, was for a condition called gastroschisis, where parts of the stomach or intestines protrude through the skin.
The study, published today in Human Reproduction Update, is the first comprehensive review to identify specific birth defects most associated with smoking.
Despite public health advice which warns of the harms of maternal smoking, such as miscarriage and premature birth, in the UK 45% of women under 20 and 17% overall still smoke during pregnancy, according to figures of the Office for National Statistics.
The research authors recommend that public health guidance should now be more explicit about the specific malformations associated with maternal smoking, in order to try and reduce the numbers of pregnant women who smoke.
Lead author Professor Allan Hackshaw, of the UCL Cancer Institute and a member of the Royal College of Physicians Tobacco Advisory Group, said: "People may think that few women still smoke when pregnant. But the reality is that, particularly in women under 20, the numbers are still staggeringly high.
"Maternal smoking during pregnancy is a well established risk factor for miscarriage, low birth weight and premature birth. However, very few public health educational policies mention birth defects when referring to smoking and those that do are not very specific – this is largely because of past uncertainty over which ones are directly linked.
"Now we have this evidence, advice should be more explicit about the kinds of serious defects such as deformed limbs, and facial and gastrointestinal malformations that babies of mothers who smoke during pregnancy could suffer from. The message from this research is that women should quit smoking before becoming pregnant, or very early on, to reduce the chance of having a baby with a serious and lifelong physical defect."
Co-author Professor Charles Rodeck, of the UCL Institute for Women's Health, added: "The results of this research are of the greatest significance for the health of mothers and babies and for public health policy. If the recommendations are implemented, they will lead to a reduction in the incidence of several common malformations, and also to greater efficacy of smoking prevention programmes, as the warning of a birth defect adds weight to that of a small or premature baby".
HEALTH QUIZ: Tobacco Trivia
Perhaps there are some medical facts that will surprise - and shock - you. Take this quiz to find out!Take the quiz now >>
More quizzes >>
Specific birth defects associated with smoking identified
Deformed limbs, clubfoot, facial disorders
More >>
Deformed limbs, clubfoot, facial disorders
More >>
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