Quitting cigs early helps pregnancies

Women who give up smoking within the first 15 weeks of pregnancy can reverse their risk of complications including giving birth prematurely and having a small baby, a new study has found.

In a major international study, researchers from University College Cork (UCC) found that pregnant women who stop smoking during this window of opportunity can prevent serious late-pregnancy complications.

The UCC researchers said the findings were significant because they show that maternity care providers should see women early in pregnancy and emphasise the importance of giving up smoking before 15 weeks, with the goal of becoming smoke free as early as possible in the pregnancy.
 
According to the research, women who do not quit smoking by 15 weeks of pregnancy are three times more likely than non-smokers to give birth prematurely and twice as likely to have low birth-weight babies.

In contrast, women who quit smoking by 15 weeks bring their risk of these complications back down to the same level as non-smokers. 

Another important finding was that women who stop smoking by 15 weeks of pregnancy are not more stressed than those who continued to smoke.

“This challenges the widely-held assumption that giving up smoking leads to increased stress and it’s an important message for women who are daunted by the idea of trying to quit,” the researchers said.
 
While it has been known for some time that smoking during pregnancy increases rates of premature birth and low birth weight – as well as miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, still birth and neonatal death – few studies have investigated whether quitting within a critical time period can prevent these complications.
 
Another major finding in the study is the identification of a set of proteins in the blood of pregnant women that may predict the development of pre-eclampsia (high blood pressure during pregnancy).
 
“The discovery of these biomarkers opens the way for the development of a potential screening test for pre-eclampsia,” the researchers added.

At the moment there is no method to identify first-time mothers who will develop this serious condition. 

“If women at high risk of pre-eclampsia could be identified early in pregnancy, they could be offered intervention to prevent it and more intensive monitoring to enable earlier detection of the condition.  Earlier detection would prevent some women developing severe complications such as seizures, liver impairment and kidney failure,” the researchers concluded.

[Posted: Fri 21/08/2009]