Wednesday, January 21, 2009

study links Secondhand smoke exposure to Pregnancy Problems

New research from the Roswell Park Cancer Institute suggests that women exposed to secondhand smoke early in life are more likely to have problems getting pregnant and have more miscarriages than those who were not exposed.

Researchers led by Luke Peppone of the University of Rochester interviewed cancer patients regarding their past pregnancies, pregnancy attempts, miscarriages, and history of smoking and secondhand smoke exposure.

Almost half (40 percent) of women studied reported pregnancy difficulty", according to the researchers, with 11 percent of women saying they had difficulty getting pregnant and more than 30 percent losing one or more babies.

But women who had parents who smoked and recalled breathing in smoke as children or young adults were 26 percent more likely to have difficulties getting pregnant, and women with any secondhand smoke exposure were 39 percent more likely to have had miscarriage.

Cigarette-smoke toxins may have permanently damaged the women's bodies, the researchers said, possibly affecting the cervix and hormonal activity involved in pregnancy.


November 27, 2008, Tobacco Control , summarized by Join Together, (http://www.jointogether.org/) December 9, 2008

1 comment:

Administrator Alice said...

We always need to remember that Chantix has not been approved for use when pregnant and a doctor would not be writing a prescription for a woman who is pregnant. Administrator Alice