Low birthweight among smoking women
- Studies have shown that women who smoke during pregnancy are three times more likely to have a low birthweight baby.
- 26% increased risk of miscarriage, or stillbirth, risk of giving birth prematurely.
- No evidence that having a smaller baby reduced pain in labour.
- One in 10 women smoke throughout pregnancy.
- Lack of education: showed a worrying lack of education among young women.
"Although smoking does reduce the baby's size, it does have a devastating effect on the baby in lots of other ways. We are bringing up our young women very fearful of labour. Labour is a normal process which is hard work, and for many people painful, but, with the right sort of support and the right sort of care, is perfectly doable."
"It is a real indictment of our education that teenagers are so fearful that they are prepared to do something that is enormously damaging to themselves and and their babies because they think there might be an outside chance it might make their labour easier. Which is largely a myth."
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/health/5405194.stm
Published: 2006/10/04 07:15:55 GMT
© BBC MMVI
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It may be surprising but its been reported that pregenant teenagers are starting to smoke for the sole purpose of reducing the size of their babies at birth so that they can have an easier delivery with less labor pains. They are smoking so that they can have an easier delivery. No one likes pain but there is a serious downside to this choice. Its not just an urban myth, there is ample evidence that smoking during pregnancy can slow a baby's growth and hinder normal development.
Low birth rate is also widely linked to an increased risk of miscarriage and postnatal complications.
labor is intrinsicly the most important part of life and perhaps, more than anything else, sanctifies the role of women in the birth process.
But, studies have shown that women who smoke during pregnancy are three times more likely to have a low birth-weight baby. Abrogation of this significanct role should not be taken lightly and we should make every evfort to understand why our new young mothers would choose to make such unhealthy choices. We have an obligation to them to provide them correct information and the right answers so the consequence of their choice is clear.
Actually, the amount of pain experienced during child birth is not a function of the baby's weight. A low-weight baby is really not less painful to deliver into the world than a baby of normal weight. Studies to lessen the amount of pain during childbirth would be approprate to a better understanding of this issue.
Studies have shown that women who smoke during pregnancy are three times more likely to have a baby with low birth-weight.
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It appears more teenagers are smoking.
According to national statistics, the rates are up only slightly. Experts say it seems efforts to stop children from smoking have stalled.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds the percentage of high school students who report that they have smoked cigarettes in the past month increased to 23 Percent.
That's up only 2 percent from the last survey, but still, experts say, it's up, not down.
The increase is the first since a steady 40 percent decline in high school smoking rates.
Now, researchers say anti-smoking campaigns need to be updated to once again become effective.
And in other health news ... Being shorter, and especially, having short legs, appears to increase the risk of being overweight and developing type 2 diabetes in middle age.
In the Journal Diabetes Care, the length of a person's legs is an indicator of childhood nutrition which may have long-lasting effects on health.
Experts at Johns Hopkins University studied body part lengths and how they relate to childhood development. The team studied leg and torso length, and body fat - a pre-diabetic condition.
Researchers found the people, especially women, with shorter Legs and longer bodies were more apt to be overweight and diabetic later in life.
Now, health officials suspect that childhood nutrition needs to improve to reduce this risk.
You can see this study in the medical journal Diabetes Care.
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