Smoking – Just HOW bad can it be?

 

Teratogens In Pregnancy

Ideally, you should quit. At least for now.

In the first trimester of your pregnancy, your body and your baby’s body undergo some pretty rapid changes. Therefore, the effects of smoking could be detrimental to your unborn child.¹ Not only can it have negative consequences on its health and growth, but as a result, there is an increased risk at your child being miscarried, still born, premature, or ectopic (in comparison to those who don’t smoke).² Knowing the effects of smoking on adult lungs, you can only imagine the effect it will have on a being much more fragile – It even tells you on the packet of cigarettes! When interfering the development of the child’s lungs, it intensifies its susceptibility to several health problems and abnormalities in the future. Similarly, there’s no doubt that the earlier you know about your pregnancy, and the earlier you quit, the better the health benefits for both you and bub!

Image 1: Images of the embryo at 4, 8 & 12 weeks, respectively (the first trimester). ⁸

Teratogens In Pregnancy

External factors that are responsible for 10% of abnormalities or permanent alterations in the structure or function of a developing embryo, are referred to as Teratogens. Teratogens are different to mutagens, for which are the cause for mutation occurring mostly in DNA.^1,4 Tobacco, amongst other illicit drugs and alcohol, are an example of environmental teratogens. It is vital that, from the first two weeks following the moment of conception, often referred to as the ‘all or nothing’ period, its initial building blocks be as healthy and viable as possible. This is why it’s crucial to understand just how bad these habits are when planning (and even when you’re not planning) for a family.

How does smoking affect my unborn?

Did you know, that the average “smoko” exposes individuals to over 4,000 harmful chemicals and doubles the risk of perinatal mortality (the loss of a foetus or newborn)?⁵ Who knows, these potential lives could’ve been the next (effective) Prime Minister of Australia or discovered the impossible – a cure for cancer. Studies suggest that the inability to provide oxygen and nutrients through the maternal support system (i.e. the umbilical cord) allows for the cause of early pregnancy loss (EPL).³Also, it is recommended that women extend their non-smoking period until they no longer intend on breastfeeding due to the possibility of chemicals being passed through breastmilk. You may as well be serving the child a cocktail of chemicals (including the ones that cause cancer!) And hence, every inhalation of cigarette smoke, whether passive or active, takes an immediate effect on your growing baby.

Image 2: Metaphoric image for effects of smoking by an expectant mother.

The Earlier, The Better

It’s important that expectant women who choose to continue their habit of smoking be informed of the risk of teratogens in the quality of life of her offspring. Other external agents that she may consider for the duration of her pregnancy include the use of medications, which is also a form of teratogen. Unfortunately, due to the amount of unplanned pregnancies, often women don’t know that they’re already in the first few weeks of their pregnancies. Therefore, by the time she meets with her local GP for her first prenatal visit, the most crucial moments of the developing embryo have passed (i.e. the formation of its main organs), and hence, it may be too late to intervene and minimalise potential birth abnormalities. Such abnormalities include cognitive dysfunctions, oral clefts, intrauterine growth restriction, and perhaps later on, a higher chance of asthma.²

Furthermore, children born to mother’s exposed to smoking often have a lower birth weight. In addition to this, they are more vulnerable to infections, breathing difficulties and long-term health issues. Despite the inevitable limitations and heavy criticisms regarding the consequences for smoking during gestation, certain methods have found results to be inconclusive with their proposed hypotheses.⁶

In conclusion, in spite of the Australian government’s efforts in educating the public with regard to the danger of smoking when expecting, one in twelve continue to do so.²However, since the increased awareness on the effects of prenatal exposure to tobacco, the number of cold turkey incidences as a result of pregnancy have also risen!^5,6

References

1. Minkin, M. (2009). Embryonic Development and Pregnancy Test Sensitivity: The Importance of Earlier Pregnancy Detection. Women’s Health, 5(6), pp.659-667.
2. Liszewski, W., Ritner, C., Aurigui, J., Wong, S., Hussain, N., Krueger, W., Oncken, C. and Bernstein, H. (2012). Developmental effects of tobacco smoke exposure during human embryonic stem cell differentiation are mediated through the transforming growth factor-βsuperfamily member, Nodal. Differentiation, 83(4), pp.169-178.
3. Huang, J., Okuka, M., McLean, M., Keefe, D. and Liu, L. (2009). Effects of cigarette smoke on fertilization and embryo development in vivo. Fertility and Sterility, 92(4), pp.1456-1465.
4. Martinez, I. K. (2014). Novel Image-Based Analysis of Bone Teratogenesis Using Human Embryonic Stem Cell Model. UC Riverside.
5. Pineles, B. (2013). Smoking in pregnancy: From effects to solutions. Ph.D. University of Southern California.
6. Aulakh, H. (2018). Post-natal effects of maternal cigarette smoking and family dynamics on child behaviours. Master. Lakehead University.
7. Betterhealth.vic.gov.au. (2018). Better Health Channel. [online] Available at: https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/pregnancy-and-smoking [Accessed 6 May 2018].
8. Wayne Blocker, M. (2018). Stages of Pregnancy: 1st, 2nd, 3rd Trimester Images. [online] OnHealth. Available at: https://www.onhealth.com/content/1/pregnancy_stages_trimesters [Accessed 6 May 2018].