What are the effects of secondhand smoke during pregnancy on the fetus?

During pregnancy, you may be exposed to secondhand smoke at work, at home, or in other public places. Pregnant women cannot control their exposure to secondhand smoke. After inhaling secondhand smoke, many pregnant women are also worried that it will have a corresponding impact on their fetuses, causing fetal malformations and so on. Does exposure to secondhand smoke during pregnancy have any effect on the fetus?

Does secondhand smoke during pregnancy have any effect on the fetus?

1. Fetal underdevelopment or fetal deformity

The tar in tobacco can cause the fetal blood vessels to constrict, reducing the blood supply to the fetus and leading to fetal hypoxia. The carbon monoxide in tobacco can cause fetal hypoxia, leading to fetal maldevelopment or even fetal death. The hydrogen cyanide in tobacco can combine with a substance called sulfur carbohydrates in the human body to reduce the level of vitamin B2 and 12 in the human body, which can affect the baby's development and cause intellectual disabilities.

2. Cause premature birth or stillbirth

Secondhand smoke contains a lot of toxins and carcinogens. Non-smokers exposed to secondhand smoke will also increase the risk of developing a variety of smoking-related diseases. Pregnant women exposed to secondhand smoke can cause sudden infant death syndrome and reduced fetal birth weight. In addition, there is direct evidence that exposure to secondhand smoke during pregnancy can cause premature birth, neural tube defects, and cleft lip and palate in newborns. A survey shows that pregnant women who smoke are twice as likely to give birth to low-birth-weight babies as women who smoke; pregnant women who smoke are more likely to suffer miscarriage, premature birth, and stillbirth than non-smoking pregnant women.

The harm of secondhand smoke to pregnant women

1. Pregnancy complications

Pregnant women are in an environment of secondhand smoke for a long time. One of the harms of secondhand smoke to pregnant women is mainly caused damage to their own organs. Secondhand smoke is also a key cause of gestational hypertension in pregnant women and a key factor leading to complications during pregnancy. For example, pregnancy-related hypertension and pregnancy-related hyperglycemia are closely related to secondhand smoke.

2. Carcinogens during pregnancy

Secondhand smoke also contains a lot of harmful substances, including 69 carcinogenic harmful substances, which can cause important gene mutations in the body, thereby affecting the imbalance of the normal growth and development control system, and finally leading to cell cancer and malignant tumors.

3. Decreased immunity

Pregnant women who are exposed to secondhand smoke for a long time will have their immunity weakened and be more susceptible to fever, colds, headaches, and even cancer. Pregnant women who smoke more than 10 cigarettes of secondhand smoke a day have a miscarriage rate that is 1 times higher than that of non-smoking pregnant women, and the incidence of premature babies is more than twice that of smoking. Long-term exposure to secondhand smoke can cause changes in some internal organs of the body and lead to low immunity.

Ordinary people will suffer certain harm from secondhand smoke if they inhale it for a long time. Inhaling secondhand smoke during pregnancy will definitely have certain effects. It is recommended that women avoid secondhand smoke during pregnancy. If there is really no way to avoid it, remember to wear a mask to prevent secondhand smoke from entering your lungs and affecting your baby's health.