Marijuana smoke proves just as harmful as tobacco smoke for pregnant women.
“Up in Smoke” (Cheech and Chong, 1978) may have floated the hazy notion that smoking marijuana was harmless fun, but new research shows that a woman’s chance for delivering a healthy baby is actually what goes up in smoke if she lets smoke into her brain and lungs while pregnant. Researchers from the University of Arizona looked at 24 studies of pregnancy and marijuana smoking: They discovered that pregnant women who smoke cannabis were more likely to be anemic and their babies more likely to end up in neonatal intensive care with low birth weight. Low birth weight is associated with intestinal and respiratory woes, brain bleeds, and heart and vision problems.
This study comes at the same time that researchers in Leipzig’s Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research discovered that tobacco smoking during pregnancy causes epigenetic disruption that dysregulates several genes at once and can trigger a roster of health problems for a newborn and throughout life. Plus, various studies indicate that cannabis smoke is almost as toxic as tobacco smoke and can reduce levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine, impairing memory and making it hard to stop smoking without feeling depressed.
These studies together should be more than enough to convince every young woman that if she smokes marijuana, tobacco or both, her dreams of a healthy baby may just go up in smoke.
Need help quitting tobacco? Check out the info at www. smokefree.gov. For help stopping marijuana use, go to www. findtreatment.samhsa.gov.
Some riding relief Q: I’m training for a multiple sclerosis fundraising bike ride. But all that riding is causing chafing down you-know-where. I read in a magazine that women are having surgery so they can ride more comfortably. Is that really necessary?
Laurie G., Richmond, Virginia
A: We believe the surgery you are referring to is labiaplasty (it reduces the size of the labia minora). But there’s no need to make surgery your first choice for dealing with seat discomfort. Any experienced rider will tell you (and guys, this is for you too.), “Get well-padded riding shorts!” They come with gel or foam pads of various thicknesses and density.
Second, for any ride longer than a few miles, always apply a thick lotion or a lubricant (they have names like Chamois Butt’r, Bodyglide — even KYJelly works) to your crotch area. Make sure your seat is the right height and the right level front to back. You can invest in an ergonomic bike seat with cutouts designed to relieve pressure on the crotch and gel pads that fit over bike seats.
If you’ve exhausted those options, or if you have a condition known as labial hypertrophy or an enlarged labia, and you still want to bike, then talk to your doc about the surgical option. This procedure is considered a minor operation, and the health benefits of staying on the bike may outweigh the surgical risks. A study last year looked at the muscle strength, lung power and exercise capacity of folks ages 55-79 who could bike 100 kilometers (62 miles) in 6.5 hours or 60 kilometers (37.2 miles) in 5.5 hours. Even their rate of oxygen consumption didn’t provide a clue to age. In other words, scientists couldn’t tell the difference between bikers who were 55 and those who were 79.