August 21, 2024
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Smoking even small amounts of cigarettes in the three months prior to pregnancy, or during pregnancy, increase the likelihood that a baby will have a serious health issue, a new study finds.
Smoking even one or two cigarettes a day in the months leading up to pregnancy or during pregnancy significantly increases the risk that the baby will have a severe health problem, new research shows.
The study's findings suggested "there is no safe period and no safe level of cigarette smoking shortly before or during pregnancy." Even at low levels, smoking was associated with increased risks of newborns being admitted into neonatal intensive care units, needing assisted ventilation, developing infections of the bloodstream, having seizures and other major health issues, the researchers found.
Smoking one to two cigarettes a day before pregnancy was linked to a 16% higher risk of major health issues in newborns. Smoking 20 or more cigarettes a day before pregnancy resulted in a 31% higher risk, the study showed.
The risk of a newborn being admitted to intensive care was 13% higher for women who smoked one to two cigarettes a day during pregnancy and 29% higher for women who smoked 20 cigarettes or more a day, according to the research.
Compared with women who had never smoked, mothers who stopped smoking during pregnancy had a higher risk of delivering newborns who needed assisted ventilation, were admitted to intensive care or had other serious health issues, the study indicated.
Approximately 10% of pregnant women in the United States smoke, according to a 2016 study. Previous research has linked smoking during pregnancy to an increased risk of preterm delivery, low birth weight and restricted growth in the womb.
The latest study, published in the online Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, used birth certification data from the U.S. National Vital Statistics System from 2016 to 2019, which included more than 15 million live births. The data included information about smoking women reported at the time of delivery.
