Smoking and Drinking while Pregnant – the Science, Risks and Dangers. Don’t do it!
Posted: Friday, March 26, 2010
by Connor Davidson
This week I decided that I would do some science writing. I'm a physics and maths man but I know quite a lot of biology. I decided that this article would probably have a much greater appeal than long calculations. Therefore I came up with this. My aim with this article is 1) to teach you a little science and, more importantly, 2) discourage drinking and smoking during pregnancy. The basic message is: don't do it!
Perhaps readers may remember thalidomide (or ( RS )-2-(2,6-dioxopiperidin-3-yl)-1 H-isoindole-1,3(2 H)-dione to be precise). This drug was introduced as a means of preventing morning sickness in the late 50's. Unknown to scientist at the time thalidomide was able to cross the placenta barrier and mess with the foetuses development. This resulted in a large number of babies being born with limbs in bizarre places.
Alcohol and nicotine can also cross the placenta barrier and do considerable damage. We're going to look at the effects of each.
Alcohol and nicotine can also cross the placenta barrier and do considerable damage. We're going to look at the effects of each.
Drinking
Alcohol is a poison and pure alcohol will kill you so it is no surprise that it can be harmful to a developing foetus. Drinking while pregnant can result in what is known as foetal alcohol syndrome. Foetal alcohol syndrome is more prevalent than you would expect: it is estimated that anywhere between 0.2 and 2 births in every thousand have some form of the syndrome. That's alarming.
Symptoms associated with foetal alcohol syndrome can include:
Alcohol is a poison and pure alcohol will kill you so it is no surprise that it can be harmful to a developing foetus. Drinking while pregnant can result in what is known as foetal alcohol syndrome. Foetal alcohol syndrome is more prevalent than you would expect: it is estimated that anywhere between 0.2 and 2 births in every thousand have some form of the syndrome. That's alarming.
Symptoms associated with foetal alcohol syndrome can include:
- Brain damage
- Behavioural problems
- Poor memory
- Small head circumference
- Facial deformities
In order for these symptoms to be displayed the baby has to be born. However, drinking during pregnancy can increase the chances of miscarriage. And do you really want that?
I'll say this: giving a baby a bottle of beer to drink is utterly moronic and shows that you're a completely useless mother. However, drinking while pregnant is even more damaging to the baby.
Smoking
Smoking, like drinking, can cause huge problems not only for you but for your baby too. Smoking increases the chances of miscarriage, cot death (roughly trebles!), still birth, inadequate milk production and lighter birth weight.
Though, if you stop smoking the results can be drastic and immediate. When your lungs are smoke free, carbon monoxide and other such chemicals clear from your system and oxygen levels should return to normal - immediately benefiting the developing foetus.
I suspect that there are a few women out there that could not give a damn about the side effects and would continue drinking and smoking regardless. On the other hand, there are probably women that just don't know. I hope that one or more of the readers of this article may be in this category. If you are one I think you know what to do. Quit smoking and stop drinking you know it makes sense.
Connor Davidson is a UK based writer. He writes on wide variety of topics with his main interest being science, maths and engineering.
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You can keep up to date with his writings by following him on twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/Connor_Davidson.
Feel free to reprint these articles on your website by using the reprint button. If you have any questions or comments please post them below - I read all comments.
You can keep up to date with his writings by following him on twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/Connor_Davidson.
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Top-level comments on this article: (6 total)Great subject to cover. I quit smoking about 7 years ago and it was one of the best things I've ever done. It was hard in the beginning but a few weeks later it was all downhill.Well done. Now you can have a baby! Oh wait...
Thanks for the comment.
Great article!Also, I finished editing it.Now I know not to drink or smoke when I'm pregnant. (Because making jokes about things you can't do are funny!)Thanks for the editing and the comment.
Good article Connor. I hope young pregnant teens that do smoke and drink see this article. If just one person is helped by this then it is worth it.So do I.Thanks for the comment.
Great article, Connor.The data is certainly there and I can assure you from my years in the NICU it rings true. SO many moms-to-be are just childish and/or stupid.Good stuff here.Thanks for the comment.
Great article and of course you are 100% correct. However we shouldn't just look after our heath during pregnancy - this should be a life time aim.I agree.Thanks for the comment.
I couldn't agree more. I know so many teen mothers who drink and smoke and even do drugs during their pregnancies and it makes me so angry. They don't even consider the effect their choices have on the growing children inside them.
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