Women are encouraged to quit smoking once they become pregnant for the health of developing baby. Smoking during pregancy has been proven to negatively effect the function of the placenta and can result in risks for both mother and baby. Women who smoke are more likely to have preterm labor, low birth weigh babies, and more medical intervention. Babies born to mothers are more likely to have breathing difficulties at birth and suffer from respiratory problems later in life including asthma.
The exact reason for the respiratory issue was not fully understood, but a new study published in the European Respiratory Journal points to a sub-optimally functioning immune system as a cause.
For the study researchers measured immune markers in the blood of more than 120 infants. Half of the infants were born to mothers who smoked cigarettes during the pregnancy.
The researchers were looking at overall immune function and how the immune system develops.
They found that babies born to mothers who smoked had a lower levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and interleukin-6 (IL-6). TNF and IL-6 are both chemical mediators that alert the immune system of an invading organism. They are both very active in the respiratory tissue of children, an area where exposure to invading organisms is high.
If the immune system alert is decreased, then invading organisms have a greater potential to establish themselves before the body begins to attack. This negative effect on the immune system may explain why children have more infections.
They concluded that the immune system appears weakened by cigarette smoke and this negatively impacts the health of the child. In order to decrease the likelihood that asthma or recurrent respiratory infections will be a part of a newborn's life women who smoke are strongly advised to quit. Also women are advised to decrease their exposure to second hand smoke during the pregnancy.
Posted by Dr. Christina Gutierrez on October 6, 2006 04:33 PM
