To vulnerable pregnant mom, air quality is fundamental factor to health, they are fragile to any pollutants in the air. And secondhand smoking is the main factor of them, secondhand smoke is a murdering to a pregnancy and a fetus. It's necessary for the husband to know what does smoking while pregnant do？And what is the time that really affect them the most? Keep reading on this, I will help you to find out what are the factors and how to deal with it.
How Does Smoking Affect a Developing Fetus
1.Nicotine's damage to fetus
There is an ingredient in cigarettes called ""nicotine"", which will enter mom’s blood circulation system through the lungs, blood will carry it to the fetus through expectation, providing nutrition and blood oxygen. And the blood containing nicotine will flow slowly, and makes blood vessels narrow.
Once the blood input into the womb decreases, it means that the absorbable source of nutrition for the fetus is reduced. Once the nutrition of the fetus cannot go up, the fetus will appear ‘stunted’, or stuck in a small size. In addition, if mothers often smoke or are exposed to second-hand smoke, the umbilical cord blood will contain carcinogens, which means that the blood containing carcinogens will be continuously transported to the fetus, which will have a great impact on the growth and development of the fetus .
2.Carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide's effect
When mothers smoke or smell secondhand smoke, cigarrrets will produce a large amount of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide gas. These harmful gases enter the blood circulation through the respiratory system through the lungs. Carbon monoxide is very easy to attach at the hemoglobin in the blood, so that the hemoglobin loses the ability to carry oxygen. And the increase of the carbon dioxide concentration in the blood is often accompanied by a decrease in the oxygen concentration, which means that the amount of blood that the fetus absorbs oxygen decreases. In such an environment, The fetus is very prone to hypoxia.
When Does Smoking Start to Affect Pregnancy?
Smoking starts to affect pregnancy in the first trimester. During the first trimester of pregnancy, any tiny unhealthy air pollutants can be the fatal factors that disturb the fetus' growth. By 6 months of pregnancy, the fetal body development has basically formed, all systems and organs of the body are gradually developing. Although the adverse factors impact of fetal developmental deformities less than before, the damage left by smoking is still unwanted.
How Does Smoking Affect Pregnancy in the First Trimester?
How does smoking affect early pregnancy? Pregnant women exposed to smoking environment will have low autoimmunity, are more prone to colds, headaches, and even cancer. And pregnant women who smoke more than 10 cigarettes a day, have twice the miscarriage rate and premature delivery than non-smoking pregnant women.
How Does Smoking Affect Pregnancy in the Second Trimester?
Second trimester is a critical period for the intellectual development of infants, and smoking will cause irreversible damage to the brain and intelligence of the fetus. After the cyanide contained in cigarettes combines with sulfur amino acids in the human body, it will reduce the vitamin B12 in the human body, which in turn will affect the intellectual development of the fetus, resulting in mental retardation of the newborn. Fetal development in the second trimester is the stage from childhood to adulthood.
And during this period, the development of various organs of the fetal body is becoming more and more mature. By full-term delivery, the newborn can cry loudly, kick his legs and hold his fists. Smoking second-hand smoke has a relatively large impact on the body of pregnant women and the fetus, and may cause fetal developmental deformities.
How Does Smoking Affect Pregnancy in the Third Trimester?
That second-hand smoke is extremely harmful to pregnant women, in prenatal period. Pregnant women who smoke second-hand smoke are more likely to suffer from massive bleeding, which may endanger the lives of mothers and babies at any time. 10% of sudden infant deaths are due to second-hand smoke. Most of the harmful chemicals released by burning tobacco can pass through the placenta to "harass" innocent babies. Toxic gases such as carbon monoxide will reduce the oxygen concentration of the mother's blood, which will lead to hypoxia of the fetus.
Nicotine, an addictive drug in tobacco, can cause narrowing of blood vessels and slow down blood flow, which means that the nutrition and oxygen provided to the fetus Will reduce, easy to cause premature birth of the baby. Premature infants are prone to dysfunction such as breathing, digestion, and temperature regulation, and even die soon after birth. To pregnant women who smoke newborns have a significantly increased chance of low birth weight, which can cause early health problems in infants and is also an important cause of infant death. 10% of sudden infant deaths are caused by passive smoking. According to data, the deformity rate of babies born to pregnant women who smoke second-hand smoke is significantly higher than that of ordinary people. Among the children born, the rate of mentally handicapped and mentally ill is relatively high.
Aftermath of Secondhand Smoke to Fetus
- Abnormal intrauterine: If pregnant women smoke a lot for a long time, the fetus may have abnormal intrauterine development, and may also damage the central nervous system of the brain.
- After birth: There may also be a variety of diseases or abnormal health conditions, such as respiratory diseases, metabolic problems, etc, theycan also cause problems in language communication and social skills.
- Fetal growth retardation: Tobacco contains a variety of toxic substances, in addition to the well-known nicotine, there are hydrocyanic acid, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, tobacco tar and so on. These toxic substances can reduce the blood oxygen content in the mother's body, and at the same time, it is easy to cause the mother's blood vessels to narrow and slow down the blood flow rate, which means that the mother's body can provide less nutrition and oxygen to the fetus, resulting in fetal growth retardation.
- Fetal mental retardation: The fetal period is a critical period for the intellectual development of infants. Smoking will cause irreversible damage to the brain and intelligence of the fetus. After the cyanide contained in cigarettes combines with sulfur amino acids in the human body, it will reduce the vitamin B12 in the human body, which in turn will affect the intellectual development of the fetus, resulting in mental retardation of the newborn.
- Fetal malformations: Under normal circumstances, smoking is likely to cause neonatal deformities, such as cleft lip and palate, foot varus, neural tube defects, etc.
- Miscarriage: Harmful substances in cigarettes can reduce progesterone secretion levels in pregnant women and increase the probability of miscarriage.
What Should a Pregnancy Do to Stay Safe From Secondhand Smoke?
- If you smell secondhand smoke often at your home, what you need is a HEPA air purifier for smoke removal, it will help you filter out more just than smoke, any pollutants beyond 0.3 microns are under its cover.
- When you are outside, you should wear a N95 mask, this kind of mask can avoid 95% of 0.3 micron particulate matter approaching you. While for pregnant women, whofeel dizzy or out of breath behind a mask, it’s better to take it off in period.
- Drink Enoughwater, and have urinate and sweat more. Proper exercise and enough water for pregnant mothers can promote metabolism and accelerate the elimination of nicotine and other toxins in the body.
- Putting some flowers and plants at home can not only absorb floating particles in the air, effectively prevent smoke pollution, but also beautify the indoor environment, and the mood of pregnant mothers will also become refreshed. For example, ivy, Chlorophytum, Clivia, Monstera, poisonous weed, and pothos, these plants have the effect of purifying the air, and can also effectively resist harmful substances in nicotine.If you are wondering what plants can help purify air, you can check this blog out.
Best Women's Day Gift - an Air Purifier for Women
As we celebrate International Women's Day, it's important to remember the role of clean air in women's health and wellbeing. An air purifier for women can help remove harmful pollutants and irritants from the air, providing a cleaner and healthier environment. (click below product to purchase one)
Help women at your home free from smoke. And for women who suffer from allergies or asthma, an air purifier can provide much-needed relief from symptoms like coughing, wheezing, and difficulty breathing.
