The smoking ban has already seen a reduction in the number of people admitted to hospital for heart attacks, and now there’s more evidence that it’s resulting in fewer premature births too.
Recently health experts in Scotland announced that, since the legislation became effective in the country, the number of premature deliveries had reduced by 10 percent. And now, experts from Colorado also say the smoking ban in their city has led to significant decreases in premature births, as well as fewer pregnant women smoking.
In a study published in the Journal of Women’s Health, the researchers explain that smoking has known risks for developing foetuses, including the risk for low birth weight and premature birth – whether the mother is a smoker herself or is simply exposed to other people’s cigarette smoke.
Meanwhile in the US, another report suggests many women are still smoking when they are pregnant. Scientists from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) quizzed women aged 15 to 44, and found that a significantly higher number of white women were smoking while pregnant (21 percent), compared to black (14 percent) and Hispanic (7 percent) women.
Whether a similar pattern would be found here in the UK is not clear, but any woman who smokes during pregnancy is risking health problems for themselves as well as for their unborn babies, the experts claim.
Smoking isn’t the only subject that’s been in the headlines lately where pregnancy is concerned. According to research presented recently at the European Congress on Obesity, women who are obese are more likely to become pregnant if they lose weight. Experts from Australia put one group of obese women on a strict diet, while another group didn’t have to diet. Those who did diet, however, not only lost weight but needed fewer cycles of IVF to fall pregnant.
And there’s more evidence that losing weight before getting pregnant has benefits, this time for the child. Writing in the Maternal and Child Health Journal, US-based experts suggest that women who are obese while pregnant are more likely to have children with lower maths and reading test scores when they are between the ages of five and seven years.
The scientists don’t know why maternal obesity might affect a developing baby’s brain. However they hope their findings might persuade more women to lose weight before getting pregnant.
For help with giving up smoking, ask your local pharmacist for advice about products that could help you quit (use our Pharmacy Finder to locate a pharmacy near where you live). Alternatively, for online support with giving up smoking and with losing weight, including confidential and convenient access to certain medications, use our Ask Your Dr service.
In a study published in the Journal of Women’s Health, the researchers explain that smoking has known risks for developing foetuses, including the risk for low birth weight and premature birth – whether the mother is a smoker herself or is simply exposed to other people’s cigarette smoke.
Meanwhile in the US, another report suggests many women are still smoking when they are pregnant. Scientists from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) quizzed women aged 15 to 44, and found that a significantly higher number of white women were smoking while pregnant (21 percent), compared to black (14 percent) and Hispanic (7 percent) women.
Whether a similar pattern would be found here in the UK is not clear, but any woman who smokes during pregnancy is risking health problems for themselves as well as for their unborn babies, the experts claim.
Smoking isn’t the only subject that’s been in the headlines lately where pregnancy is concerned. According to research presented recently at the European Congress on Obesity, women who are obese are more likely to become pregnant if they lose weight. Experts from Australia put one group of obese women on a strict diet, while another group didn’t have to diet. Those who did diet, however, not only lost weight but needed fewer cycles of IVF to fall pregnant.
And there’s more evidence that losing weight before getting pregnant has benefits, this time for the child. Writing in the Maternal and Child Health Journal, US-based experts suggest that women who are obese while pregnant are more likely to have children with lower maths and reading test scores when they are between the ages of five and seven years.
The scientists don’t know why maternal obesity might affect a developing baby’s brain. However they hope their findings might persuade more women to lose weight before getting pregnant.
For help with giving up smoking, ask your local pharmacist for advice about products that could help you quit (use our Pharmacy Finder to locate a pharmacy near where you live). Alternatively, for online support with giving up smoking and with losing weight, including confidential and convenient access to certain medications, use our Ask Your Dr service.
