Maternal smoking during pregnancy - CA Module 2

: Maternal smoking during pregnancy - CA Module 2

p : language Maternal smoking during pregnancy has been implicated in various problems with infant health . Spend some time investigating the results of any published studies that you can find on the Web using any appropriate search engine

Based on what you learn , develop a research question on the health of babies born to smoking versus non-smoking mothers and devise a testable hypothesis related to this health issue . List as many problems as you can identify and anticipate in interpreting the data that your

investigation will reveal

Your comments may be submitted in list or outline form

The Research Question would be Are babies born from mothers who smoke during the pregnancy have greater chances of developing low-birth weight , compared to those born from mothers who do not smoke

A study was conducted on pregnant women that belonged to a Maternity Hospital in Haguenau , France , in 1974 . 248 pregnant women that smoked at least five cigarettes a day were defined as `cases , and 196 pregnant women who did not smoke were defined as `controls . Tests conducted on the placenta demonstrated higher incidences of defective trophoblasts in smokers compared to non-smokers . The signs of intrauterine hypoxia , low birth-weight and low placental weight , were also higher in smokers compared to non-smokers . However , the study was not able to establish a relationship between low birth-weight and low placental weight or intrauterine hypoxia (Shipra , A . Et al , 1977

Another study conducted demonstrated that mothers who smoked during one pregnancy had produced infants with lower birth-weight , compared to those infants born during pregnancy when they did not smoke . This was irrespective of the birth and other factors that affect the growth of the unborn baby in the utreus . The reduction in the birth weight was directly associated with the number of cigarettes smoked . Mothers , who smoked less , produced infants on an average 90 grams less than normal whereas those who smoked heavily developed babies on an average 533 grams below normal . Smoking brought about the development of several lesions in the placental due to under-perfusion (which was usually periodic . Besides , pregnancy during smoking was on an average 1 .5 days shorter than without smoking (Naeye , R .L , 1978

A study was also able to demonstrate that women who quit smoking during pregnancy are able to reduce the several risks associated with pregnancy such as low birth-weight , preterm labor , spontaneous abortion etc , and period of breastfeeding also improved (Giglia , R .C . Et al 2006

A study conducted in Johannesburg and Sweto , in 1990 , demonstrated that women who smoked (6 .1 ) and used snuff (7 .5 ) during the pregnancy produced babies who weight an average 2982 grams compared to babies of non-smokers who weighted 3148 grams , on an average . However environmental pollutants (such as passive smoking ) did not significantly adversely affect the birth weight (Steyn , K , Et al , 2006

Another study conducted in Pelotas , Brazil , in 193 , demonstrated that smoking in mothers produced babies on an average...