Pregnant Smokers Damage Children’s Cardiovascular System
March 4, 2007 by Lei
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
This summer, smoking will be banned in all public indoor spaces in the UK and it couldn’t happen soon enough. At a Chinese restaurant yesterday in Central London, our table was right up against a couple of women who insisted on smoking during the meal. My son’s chair was right up against the back of one of them and we got out as soon as we could.
I have no problems with people who choose to smoke as long as they don’t turn me into a second-hand smoker but it really bothers me when people smoke around children. Certainly there are worse sins. Some pregnant women still continue smoking (and drinking, and drugging, and…?!). I’m sure they know it’s not good for them or their baby, but they have either no ability to control themselves or their addictions are what’s in control.
The latest results out of the Netherlands Atherosclerosis Risk in Young Adults show that children born of mothers who smoked during pregnancy have a permanent higher risk of vascular damage which can result in stroke and heart attack later in life. Smoking during pregnancy is associated with:
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Intrauterine growth retardation
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Low birth weight
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Cardiovascular disease
It reminds me of this photo from The Roanoke Times that was taken in September 2004.
More about Mellissa Williamson and this photo at Snopes.com.
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Tags: pregnancy, smoking, cigarettes, heart, heart disease, diseases, illness, health, medicine
