Action on Smoking and Health A National Legal-Action Antismoking Organization Entirely Supported by Tax-Deductible Contributions    Search  | Info About  | ash.org| To Join |  Email Page

Excerpts from: Local pregnant women more likely to smoke

By JENNIFER NEJMAN The Daily Record [06/24/03]

The study also found that children of moms who smoked were at greater risk.

The percentage of children born to mothers who used tobacco while pregnant is higher in York County than the statewide average.
In 2000, 21.8 percent of babies in the county were born to mothers who used tobacco during pregnancy, compared to the statewide average of 16.9 percent, according to data from the Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children.

That means statewide, one in six women use tobacco while pregnant. In York County that number is one in 4.5, said Diane McCormick, spokeswoman for the nonprofit advocacy group.

Smoking presents the same long-term risks for an expectant woman that it does for a woman who is not pregnant — lung cancer, emphysema and other health problems.

But a woman’s smoking also affects the fetus in ways that can cause lifelong problems.

Infants born to women who smoked during pregnancy face a greater likelihood of premature birth and low birth weight, still- birth, sudden infant death syndrome and respiratory problems such as asthma.

Dr. Julie Drolet, a gynecologist and obstetrician in York County, said the number of moms-to-be using tobacco didn’t surprise her. Despite the large amount of preventative education out there, she still sees expectant women who smoke through their pregnancies.

She said she doesn’t know why York County numbers would be higher than the state average.

Each time a woman lights up a cigarette, the nicotine, which also is found to lesser degrees in patches and tablets used to quit smoking, narrows her arteries.

“There is less blood flow going to the uterus, less blood flow going to the placenta (the spongy structure in a uterus from which the fetus gets its nourishment) and less blood flow going to the baby,” Drolet said.

The arteries are narrowed for almost 40 minutes after each cigarette, she said. “Tobacco impairs fetal growth in a direct relationship with the number of cigarettes smoked,” Drolet said.

Smoking also can affect a woman who wants to have a baby because it decreases fertility — especially if she is 35 or older, Drolet said. But, she said, it’s not an effective contraceptive, so smoking can’t be substituted for birth control.

One of the results of smoking, low birth weight, was documented in the 2003 Kids Count report, which was released last week.

Low birth weight is an indicator of infant survival, health and development. Babies who are underweight can have developmental delays, chronic respiratory conditions and visual and hearing impairments.

In Pennsylvania, the number of low birth weight babies rose from 7.1 percent in 1990 to 7.7 percent in 2000, according to the Kids Count report. County statistics were not done for this report.

Vickie Zeiler, program coordinator of tobacco education and cessation programs at York Hospital, said WellSpan has programs that target pregnant women and those in the age range likely to become pregnant.

She said of the women who stop smoking during pregnancy, one-third do not return to smoking one year after they quit, according to a report from the U.S. surgeon general.

Zeiler emphasized the danger secondhand smoke poses to a child.

It is the third-leading cause of preventable death, behind smoking and obesity, she said.

It has been linked to increased incidence of asthma in children, decreased lung function, increased ear infections and pneumonia.