Smoking In Pregnancy Is Better For Mother
WANT a smaller baby, and lessen the need for a Cesarean section? Then smoke ten fags a day.
(Can the increased use of Cesarean section be linked to reduced tobacco intake in pregnant women? Anorak feels a research grant coming our way.)
Smoking in pregnancy is far less damaging to the unborn baby than commonly supposed, detailed analysis suggests. If women give up smoking by the fifth month of pregnancy, the effect on the baby is negligible, the study found. And even if they do not, the effect on birthweight is surprisingly small.
And:
Middle-class women suffer almost no damaging effects, the analysis suggests, even if they continue to smoke throughout pregnancy.
Smaller babies can mean a quicker and easier birth:
Analysis of the data shows that smoking throughout pregnancy reduces birthweight by 5.6 per cent, and the gestation period by just over a day. But when the results are corrected for other factors, such as diet, lifestyle and alcohol, the effect of smoking on birthweight drops to 1.8 per cent and the reduction in gestation becomes insignificant.
Forget the C-Section. We’re in the S(moking)-Section…
February 15th, 2008 at 8:19 am
once again the working class is picked on. So if you have a bit of money in the bank and a nice job that means your unborn baby can’t absorb toxins does it??
what an irresponsible piece of research!!!
February 21st, 2008 at 10:14 am
i agree with sammy what a irrisponsible piece of research. read the study again and know this smoking in pregnancy is dangerous for mother and baby. smoking in general is dangerous and no matter what class you come from if you smoke during pregnancy you can harm your baby.