| Children They Carry Essay, Research Paper
Women Smoking During Pregnancy – - Effects on the Children They Carry:
There are many effects that cigarette smoking
by pregnant women have on their fetuses. The
relationship between maternal smoking and fetal
development shows that smoking can induce
spontaneous abortion, affect birth weight, and
bring about fetal malformations. The long-term
effects of smoking while pregnant on the offspring
are its influence on growth, the chance of SIDS,
respiratory disorders, and behavior.
Smoking while pregnant can affect a baby’s life
immediately, through distorted birth weight and
fetal malformations, or end it, through spontaneous
abortion.
Spontaneous abortion has been studied from many
angles in order to determine its link to maternal
smoking. Since 1931, many surveys, documents, and
studies have been recorded in this area. The
results of these reports are all in agreement:
smoking while pregnant increases the chance of
miscarriage.
There isn’t one reason for this, that can be
applied to every situation, however. Several
theories have risen from the numerous experiments.
One idea is that placental development may be
stunted from the cigarette smoke, which would
render the placenta unable to support a fetus.
Another conclusion is that smoking may cause
abnormal development of the embryo, but this can
rarely be linked directly with smoking. Another
possibility is that smoking affects hormonal
systems that sustain pregnancy, for example,
progesterone, so that the uterus is unable to
support implantation. Tests are being done now to
find other reasons smoking may induce abortion.
One major factor that is probably paid the most
attention to regarding this topic is birth weight.
This is because birth weight is a fairly accurate
barometer of prenatal development. Another reason
is because birth weight is most commonly associated
with maternal smoking. The tests involving birth
weight have been more successful than those
involving spontaneous abortion. Recent studies take
into account the sex of the offspring and racial
and genetic background. With these factors
accounted for, the reductions in birth weight of
infants born to smoking mothers range from forty to
four hundred and thirty grams less than the birth
weights of children born to nonsmoking mothers,
with the average being two hundred grams, or seven
ounces, less.
Also, “smoking infants” tend to be shorter than
“nonsmoking infants”, approximately 1.4 centimeters
shorter, though the major factor is the weight. In
some studies, the circumference of the infant’s
head was significantly reduced, due to maternal
smoking.
The low birth weight is also affected by the
amount of cigarettes smoked a day. Eight percent of
women who smoke one cigarette a day have babies
with a low birth weight.
Infants born to mothers who smoked while they
were pregnant tend to remain below normal in height
and weight.
The lower the birth rate of an infant is, the
greater the chance of perinatal mortality, also
logically brought about by maternal smoking.
Spontaneous abortions in early pregnancies are
usually associated with malformations and
chromosomal aberrations in the developing fetus. A
study was made by Naeye that death rates due to
malformations increased when the mother smoked more
than ten cigarettes a day. His study included 100
pregnant women who smoked ten cigarettes a day and
100 pregnant women who didn’t smoke at all. The
conclusion was the stillbirth rate of 1.72% for
“smoking babies” as compared to 0.1% for nonsmoking
babies. It was established that malformations due
to maternal smoking triggered stillbirth.
The fetus can also acquire a build-up of patent
ductus arteriosus, which can cause cardiovascular
abnormalities in the future. Also, babies born to
smoking mothers are twice as likely to have
congenital heart disease when they’re older.
The long-term effects smoking while pregnant
can have on an infant can affect them for their
whole life; in growth, respiratory disorders, and
behavior. It can even end the baby’s life early,
through SIDS.
All highly reputed studies on the growth of a
“smoking infant” have come to the same conclusion:
babies born to smoking mothers will most likely
have less height and weight than that of a
“nonsmoking infant”. On the average, a one-year-old
born to a smoking mother will be .3 kg lighter than
its smoke-free peer. At the age of four,
“nonsmoking children” will generally be about .9 cm
taller than a “smoking” four-year-old. This idea
consists through the age of seven in most reports,
but few of the studies found any significant height
or weight difference between “smoking” and
“nonsmoking” children by the age of ten.
SIDS, or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, occurs
in approximately 2.5 out of 1000 live births. The
name refers to the sudden, often unexplained death
of an infant, usually between one and four months
old. It is presently the leading cause of death in
infants under one year old in the United States.
Five major studies, conducted recently, show
that maternal smoking greatly increases the
probability of SIDS. In one study, 125 children
stricken by crib death were compared with 325
infants, matched for place of birth, gestational
age, date of birth, sex, race, and socioeconomic
status. The results showed that women who had
smoked during their pregnancy were more likely to
die from SIDS than nonsmokers, and the likelihood
increased greatly when the mother smoked more than
six cigarettes per day.
Other investigators have suggested that the
syndrome may result from factors producing a
harmful environment for the developing fetus, which
would include maternal smoking.
Three large-scale studies have been conducted
to demonstrate an association between maternal
smoking and respiratory disorders. Especially
important is the increased occurrence of pneumonia
among children of smokers.
One result from these tests is the possibility
that prenatal smoking and the exposure to this
smoke may have lowered the resistance of these
children to subsequent infections. “Smoking babies”
have a lower amount of lympocytotoxins at the time
of birth than “nonsmoking babies”. This lessened
amount of lympocytotoxins could make the children
less resistant to bacterial and viral infections.
The final long-term effect of maternal smoking
on the offspring involves behavior. The first major
study showed that infants who had been exposed to
nicotine while in the womb were less visually alert
than nicotine-free babies. They also appeared more
dazed, and yawned and sneezed more. In another
study, it was noted that “smoking babies” had a
weaker suck, took longer to begin sucking, and
took longer to complete sucking.
One study consisted of follow-up sessions with
462 four-year-olds with both smoking an nonsmoking
mothers. All the children were from Caucasian,
middle-class suburban families. The study showed
that smokers’ offspring were more likely to
approach strangers, exhibit “negative” behavior
when upset, and were more stubborn and persistent.
Other studies showed that behavioral patterns
in “smoking children” were apparent for many years
and could easily affect the children for their
entire lives.
These are the major effects of maternal
cigarette smoking on the fetus. I think it can be
easily stated that smoking while pregnant can be
detrimental to the child’s future, and can affect
their whole being for the worse.
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