Smoking during pregnancy

[trailofmeat]

Hi All,

I am curious if there is a name to describe the effects of smoking during pregnancy has on the fetus? For example, there is a fetal alcohol syndrome, which describes the effects of alcohol on the fetus, yet, in the articles I’ve read they just refer to smoking during pregnancy as just that.

Kind Regards
Trail

[MichaelXY]

Asthma, bronchitis… Maybe?
I suspect there is no way to directly link maternal smoking to a particular illness like AFS. AFS has a direct relation to mothers who consume alcohol. Asthma on the other hand can be caused by many factors even in a mother who does not smoke.

[JorgeLobo]

Please keep ,this an accurate discussion. Smoking and alcohol consumption per se have no signficant detrimental effect on the fetus. Excessive alcohol consumption does and smoking’s effect is arguable tho’ the health nazi’s would eliminate choice and ban both.

[trailofmeat]

Thanks for your responses. I need to appologize, as I found the term I needed in an article that I had previously read prior to posting this thread. It refers to this condition as prenatal cigarette smoke exposure (PCSE).

It appears that dose dependant cigarette smoke does have an effect on the birth weight and cephalic size, which can alter the shape and growth of the brain and central nervous system. Therefore one could say that cigarette smoke does affect the fetus.

[JorgeLobo]

lol – love the pompous acronyms. This so-called condition is not broken out from other factors smoking mothers may have indulged.

The health lobby is at it again – science doesn’t have to rigorous when you’re already convinced. Think trailofmeat was sucking us in.

[khelben1979]

Maybe this article: http://health.discovery.com/centers/pregnancy/americanbaby/smoking.html might spice up the debate in this thread.

Personally, I definitely think it seems like a very bad idea.

[bradleypeter]

quote trailofmeat:

Hi All,

I am curious if there is a name to describe the effects of smoking during pregnancy has on the fetus? For example, there is a fetal alcohol syndrome, which describes the effects of alcohol on the fetus, yet, in the articles I’ve read they just refer to smoking during pregnancy as just that.

Kind Regards
Trail

Woman who smoke during pregnancy face lot consequences such as sudden infant death syndrome, still birth, low birth weight of the baby, placenta abruption, premature birth, miscarriage, infertility, colic and respiratory infection that affects new born babies. Visit: http://smokingharms.com/, it provides much information about the above issue.

[Darby]

If you’re looking for a simple effect (so let’s ignore the microtoxins released into the blood), just the ongoing presence of carbon monoxide will reduce oxygen availability to the embryo and fetus. I agree that the anti-smoking forces grossly overestimate the effects (which garners the response to believe NOTHING about bad effects), but the effects are well-supported by a large number of well-run studies (and, again, there are some pretty lousy studies out there as well).

[stopsmokinghabits]

Smoking in pregnancy accounts for an estimated 20 to 30 percent of low-birth weight babies.Many complications of pregnancy are more likely to occur in smokers. While any smoking is bad, going through less than a half pack a day is definitely better than a heavier habit. Miscarriage, placental abruption, premature rupture of the membranes, premature birth, and low birth weight have all been shown to be more prevalent in the pregnancies of heavy smokers. If you quit smoking by 16 weeks gestation, you can avert many of these complications; and some can still be prevented even if you wait until close to the end of your pregnancy to stop smoking.Studies show that couples that smoke during the time of conception have a higher chance of having a girl.

[koyal]

Hi,
By a little off-subject thinking, I wonder why people smoke at all, let alone smoking during pregancy period, knowing pretty well that there are hundred and one bad effects to smoking. If the argument for continuing smoking is one of addiction, I have a different perspective, I have seen hard headed chain smokers overnight becoming nonsmokers, when their doctors suddenly diagnose them with a Lung Cancer or Parkinson’s disease. It only shows that there is always a way if only there is a will. I also wonder why companies are allowed to produce such things if we are convinced that they are really bad for health , another example of our hypocritic way of life.

Regards,
Koyal

[david23]

Koyal, for girls, many do it to lose weight, which does appear to happen unless someone has disproved it already

[stopsmokinghabits]

I don’t have that much idea on how does the cigarette smoke affects the fetus but I can say
that pregnant women who smoke are more likely to deliver underweight babies. Others says that
couples that smoke during the time of conception have a higher chance of
having a girl and it can also affects the fertility of a woman.
Smoking in pregnancy accounts for an estimated 20 to 30 percent of low-birth weight babies.
It is better to quit smoking.

[berjnsan21]

quote trailofmeat:

Hi All,

I am curious if there is a name to describe the effects of smoking during pregnancy has on the fetus? For example, there is a fetal alcohol syndrome, which describes the effects of alcohol on the fetus, yet, in the articles I’ve read they just refer to smoking during pregnancy as just that.

Kind Regards
Trail

Well, I’m not an expert with this. On the other hand, I have never been pregnant, but as I know, smoking during pregnancy is not good to your health and to your baby. It will affect the baby inside your womb, so be careful to that.

[corey90]

It’s just like this, you’re feeding the child in the womb with harmful chemicals that tobacco has. veins constrict and delivery of those chemicals induces the child. Not nice huh. ❓

[StephenJones1]

Hi friends,
Every body knows that smoking is injurious to our health. But it create more difficulty when a smoker doing smoking in her pregnant time. Smoking increases the chance the baby will be stillborn or and it can even cause a miscarriage. Estimates show that about 30 percent of low birth weight babies are caused by smoking. Smoking during pregnancy also lowers there baby’s normal lung functioning. In addition, smoking during pregnancy gives a greater chance of physical defects like cleft lip and cleft palate.

Thanks.

[JackBean]

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