"Smoking is harmful to health" You know for sure, right? Especially during the special period of pregnancy, it is no exaggeration to say that smoke is a poison.
If you don't smoke, don't think you can stay out of it, because the harm of inhaling second-hand smoke and third-hand smoke during pregnancy can also not be underestimated.
According to WHO reports, smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke in pregnant women is closely associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes such as fetal malformations, stillbirth, preterm birth and infant death. Expectant mothers who smoke during pregnancy have a 1-fold increased risk of congenital malformations and sudden death in their infants, and a 13% increased risk of congenital malformations and a 23% increased risk of stillbirth when exposed to secondhand smoke during pregnancy.
Therefore, inhaling cigarettes during pregnancy, whether you are active or passive, causes far more harm than we think.
What is the fetus doing when you smoke?
Let's start with the dangers of direct smoking during pregnancy.
Suppose you are now going to enter a room, but the warning sign at the door reads:
"The air in this room contains toxic gases that may cause you to have high blood pressure during pregnancy, placenta previa, placenta abruption or premature rupture of membranes, or it may cause your baby to stunted, cleft lip and palate, congenital heart disease and other defects." Will you still go in?
I'm sure all expectant mothers would firmly claim not to enter such a room. But it's really what expectant mothers who are smoking do.
Smoking may give people a short period of pleasure and relaxation, but I don't know if you have ever wondered what the baby in your belly is like when the expectant mother is smoking?
Dr. Natya Riceland of Durham University in the United Kingdom has done a very intuitive experiment.
She used a 4D ultrasound scanner to observe the expression and movement of the fetus in the mother-to-be's stomach, and through thousands of observations, she found that the baby in the belly of the non-smoking pregnant woman had a peaceful and quiet face, while the baby in the belly of the smoking pregnant woman was obviously uneasy, distorted, and frequently touched her mouth and face with her hands.
△ The upper is the fetal baby of the smoking group, and the lower part is the fetal baby of the non-smoking group
According to Dr. Riceland, the closer the fetus is to birth, the lower the frequency of mouth movement and touching itself, because as the central nervous system develops, they learn self-control.
The contrast between these images means that the baby's central nervous system in the belly of a smoking pregnant woman is relatively slow to develop.
Some expectant mothers feel anxious and guilty because of smoking, but they are not determined to quit smoking, so they choose to replace traditional cigarettes with electronic cigarettes, thinking that smoking electronic cigarettes is fine, here to remind, do not hold this fluke mentality.
The "China Smoking Hazards Health Report 2020" clearly pointed out that e-cigarettes will also cause harm to health, especially nicotine, as the main component of e-cigarettes, will have adverse effects on fetal development, such as damage to brain development.
How many people are suffering from secondhand smoke?
Although many expectant mothers do not smoke themselves, they also face the problem of second-hand smoke.
How common is it to be forced to inhale secondhand smoke during pregnancy? You can feel this data from the journal China Maternal and Child Health: according to the survey, the passive smoking rate of pregnant women in a certain area of Yunnan is as high as 58.5%, and the places where passive smoking is mainly in their own homes, relatives and friends' homes and workplaces.
According to the World Health Organization, the smoke of second-hand smoke contains 4,000 chemicals and at least 250 harmful substances, of which 69 known carcinogens are contained.
So, is there any way to avoid the harm caused by second-hand smoke? For example, wouldn't it be better to exhaust air with air purifiers, air conditioners, fans, and other equipment?
In response to this problem, the "China Smoking Hazards Health Report" clearly pointed out: "Second-hand smoke exposure, there is no so-called safety level. ”
That is to say, as long as it is exposed to the environment of second-hand smoke, it will cause harm to the body, exhaust fans, air conditioners and other ventilation devices are useless, only indoor smoking is the only way for expectant mothers to completely avoid the harm of second-hand smoke.
Will the harm of third-hand smoke be lighter than that of second-hand smoke?
After talking about second-hand smoke, let's talk about third-hand smoke, which may be unfamiliar to most people.
The so-called third-hand smoke refers to the tobacco residues attached to various items after the second-hand smoke spreads, such as smoke particles that remain on the surface of furniture, clothes, walls, carpets, and even scalps and skin.
Do not think that these smoke particles remain on various items, and after the baptism of time, their lethality will be weakened, on the contrary, their harm may increase.
The known chemical composition of third-hand smoke includes more than 10 carcinogenic compounds such as hydrocyanic acid, butane, toluene, arsenic, and lead.
And, even more strikingly, as early as the 1980s, Philip Morris, the world's largest tobacco company, had a declassified document showing that in animal experiments, third-hand smoke was 2 to 4 times more toxic than fresh second-hand smoke.
Later studies proved that compounds in second-hand smoke can react surface chemically with pollutants in the air to form new or even more harmful toxic substances. For example, nicotine will continue to produce chemical reactions with nitrite in the air, forming nitrosamines with strong carcinogenicity.
These toxic substances can stay in the room for months, up to several years. Moreover, like second-hand smoke, some commonly used methods, such as ventilation, vacuuming, air purifiers, smoked vinegar, etc., cannot effectively eliminate third-hand smoke.
So if you are pregnant and have been in a three-handed smoke environment for a long time, although you may have become accustomed to the smell of smoke on your husband's clothes, on the sofa pillow, or in the room, from now on, you should be vigilant!
When is the best time to start quitting?
As stated at the beginning of the article, everyone understands the principle that "smoking is harmful to health", but it should not be just a slogan printed on a cigarette box.
If you're a mother-to-be who smokes, the sooner you quit, the better.
Studies have shown that quitting smoking in the early stages of pregnancy, that is, three months before pregnancy, can effectively reduce the risk of smoking.
The first trimester is definitely the best time to quit smoking, because many expectant mothers will naturally develop a dislike for cigarettes – which may be a warning from the body's intuition.
Of course, even in the last month of pregnancy, don't feel late, you need to know that quitting smoking at this time can also deliver a little more oxygen to the baby.
We may also hear voices like, "I smoked when I was pregnant, but I wasn't born well..."
Need to remind expectant mothers with this fluke mentality, the impact of smoking on the fetus is very long-term, the baby may not have any problems at the moment of birth, but there have been many studies that have confirmed that the expectant mother smokes, the baby's health and learning ability in the future will be relatively poor.
If you are a mother-to-be who is suffering from second- or third-hand smoke, you can forward this article to your husband or family.
Although it is difficult to quit smoking, I believe that when they see the harm of cigarettes, they will also put down the cigarettes in their hands for you and your baby.
If you are in the workplace, you can ask a smoking colleague to understand your situation, or communicate with the leader to change to a smoke-free environment.
In short, any way of action is definitely better than silent acceptance.
I hope that today's article can sound the alarm bell for every expectant mother, and for the safe birth of the baby, we should all stay away from cigarettes, whether it is first-hand smoke, second-hand smoke or third-hand smoke.
Have you ever smoked second- or third-hand smoke during pregnancy? You can communicate in the message area. You are also welcome to forward the article for more people to see.