Vaping mums’ babies weigh same as non-smokers’
PREGNANT women in a Dublin maternity hospital who used e-cigarettes delivered babies who had the same birthweight as non-smokers, a new study reveals.
The study at the Coombe Hospital found it was significantly greater than the birthweight of tobacco smokers.
It looked at 240 women attending the hospital who had a history of only using e-cigarettes.
They tended to be of a higher socio-economic status than smokers, the findings showed.
Infants born to e-cigarette users had a mean birthweight of 3,470g, which was similar to non-smokers.
It was significantly greater than the birthweight of smokers’ babies at 3,116g. Gestation at delivery was the same in all groups.
Pregnant women are told that protecting their baby from tobacco smoke is one of the best things they can do to give their child a healthy start inlife.
Babies of tobacco smokers are on average 200g lighter than babies of non-smokers, which can cause problems during and after labour.
E-cigarettes are still relatively new and the full impact on a person’s health is not known.
Tobacco cigarettes deliver nicotine along with thousands of harmful chemicals.
E-cigarettes allows a person to inhale nicotine through a vapour rather than smoke.
By itself, nicotine is relatively harmless. E-cigarettes do not produce tar or carbon monoxide, the two main toxins in cigarette smoke. Carbon monoxide is particularly harmful to developing babies.
The HSE said e-cigarettes are not currently recommended for pregnant women but nicotine replacement therapy can reduce or remove symptoms of withdrawal. The HSE’s QUITline is 1800 201 203.