Smoking is not compatible with pregnancy due to the harmful effects that nicotine has on the fetus. This is assured by experts in gynecology and in this way it is consolidated by the World Health Organization (WHO) in its report ‘Tobacco control to improve the health and development of children’.
Warning that smoking during pregnancy or exposure to tobacco smoke increases the risk of stillbirth and premature delivery.
Risks for Children of Parents Who Smoke
According to the work, maternal smoking doubles the risk of sudden infant death, as well as birth defects, while exposure to smoke during pregnancy is associated with a 23 percent higher risk of stillbirth and a 13 percent higher risk of stillbirth. percent higher risk of congenital malformations.
In fact, smoke kills around 1.2 million people each year and 65,000 of these preventable and premature deaths are children and adolescents under 15 years of age.
The head of the Child Health and Development Unit of the WHO Department of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Aging, Bernadette Daelmans, points out that * “exposure to tobacco smoke affects survival, health and development of children before and after birth “. *
“There is no safe level of exposure to tobacco smoke. It seriously damages a child’s health and can lead to tobacco use later in life, increasing the risk of serious harm throughout their life.”
And it is that, exposure to tobacco smoke during pregnancy is particularly relevant for many low- and middle-income countries, where few women smoke, but many men do.
They are also more likely to get asthma, be hospitalized for it, and develop middle ear disease. Additionally, children exposed to tobacco smoke in their early life also experience behavior problems more often and do worse in school.
The authors of the report assure that “the control of the tobacco is one of the most profitable interventions for the infantile health” . They recall that 62 countries around the world have adopted comprehensive smoke-free policies, which improves the chances that their children will have a healthier future.
For this reason, the WHO insists on the benefits of creating ‘100% smoke-free’ policies, such as playgrounds, open-air dining rooms, parks and beaches, to protect people from exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke. , including pregnant women and children.
Via | who
Photos | iStock
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