Smoking harms the health of your baby

Smoking damages the health of your baby because during the pregnancy it is one of the main environmental risk factors encountered by the fetus.

Tobacco exposure is generally associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes that can manifest at different stages of life. However, fetal growth restriction is the most common smoking-induced side effect.

How does it harm the baby's health?

The baby's health is harmed because cigarettes contain more than 4.000 chemicals.

When smoked, the chemicals stop oxygen and essential nutrients from reaching your baby.

Lack of oxygen affects the baby's heart, which has to work harder, affecting its growth and brain development.

Low birth weight in babies is also linked to problems in later life, such as coronary heart disease and diabetes.

Smoking can cause your baby to be born early, underweight, and be more susceptible to infections and asthma in infancy.

How does tobacco affect?

Tobacco produces changes in multiple organ systems.

These alterations can affect the function of the placenta, which at the same time affects fetal growth.

It is worth noting that the extent of the changes induced by smoking depends mainly on the maternal level of susceptibility. Therefore, perinatal pregnancy outcomes vary depending on the interaction between the triad:

• maternal modifications.
• fetal changes.
• placental involvement.

The mechanism is complex.

scientific publication

Dr. Gomez and her colleagues have published a review very interesting on this topic. in the review link you will find the article.

This review seeks to reveal the effect of maternal smoking-induced changes on immune, endocrine, and metabolic pathways, as well as their impact on the fetus.

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