Even light smoking before or during pregnancy can increase a newborn’s risk of health problems Babies born to expecting smokers are more likely to have health problems or require intensive care This risk is higher even if a woman quits smoking once she’s pregnant, or if she only smoked one or two cigarettes a day WEDNESDAY, Aug. 21, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Just a daily cigarette or two before or during pregnancy endangers the health of newborns, a new study warns. Infants are 16% more likely to suffer major health issues following delivery if their mothers engaged in “light smoking” of one or two cigarettes a day prior to getting pregnant, researchers found.
Those newborns also have a 13% higher risk of landing in neonatal intensive care, results showed. What’s more, these risks increase with the amount a woman smokes, and remain high even if she quits partway through her pregnancy, researchers found. These results run counter to the belief by some women that it’s okay to smoke before getting pregnant or during the first three months of pregnancy, or that light smoking is unlikely to be harmful, researchers said.
“There is no safe period and no safe level of cigarette smoking shortly before or during pregnancy,” concluded the research team led by , a professor of epidemiology with Shangdon University in Jinan, China. Doctors “should emphasize the detrimental effects of even light smoking before and during pregnancy,” the researchers added. It’s estimate.