Smoking, Why Pregnant women should not smoke?

Smoking is one threat to the fetus in the womb. However, it turns out quite a lot of pregnant women who remained stubborn and unwilling to quit smoking. At least in the United States found 12-24 percent of pregnant mothers continue to smoking.

In a recent study conducted by scientists from Loma Linda University School of Medicine found one of the dangers of smoking to the fetus. Mentioned that the fetus is exposed to nicotine will suffer high blood pressure when he was an adult. As a result, their risk of suffering a heart attacks at a young age.

The study was conducted by measuring the effects of nicotine in fetal rats. However, if the same effect also occurs in humans, of course, the heart health of newborns needs to be a concern. Another study conducted in humans showed that children born to women smokers were damaged in the growth of the vascular system.

Since it is impossible to try nicotine exposure on the fetus, DaLiao Xiao and colleagues conducted a study in mice. In the experiment, Xiao provides exposure to nicotine in 12 pregnant mice and placebo in 13 other mice. Then the mice were born their health monitored until the age of five months to determine whether there is a sign of heart damage or impaired blood circulation.

In the fifth month, the baby mice from the group given nicotine had two classic symptoms of increasing the risk of heart disease, namely increased oxidative stress and hypertension.

Actually quite a lot of research showing negative effects of smoking to the fetus, for example, reduces the production of milk, a baby born with low weight, until the baby’s growth is not optimal. Therefore, do not let the baby go to secondhand smoke. Creating a healthy environment for the development of the child should start since he was in the womb.