Breathing in smoke at the workplace, otherwise known as secondhand smoke, affects everyone exposed to the smoke, including pregnant women and their unborn children. Studies have found significant increases in a wide variety of potential health complications in fetuses and babies exposed to cigarette, pipe and cigar smoke. Understanding the risks involved with secondhand smoke when you're pregnant helps you make informed decisions to protect the health of your unborn child.
Identification
Also called environmental tobacco smoke, secondhand smoke is cigarette, pipe or cigar smoke created by smokers and inhaled by nonsmokers. This type of smoke is considered a Class A carcinogen and contains more than 40 cancer-causing agents and 200 known poisons. All of the toxins from smoke breathed in by a mother are passed along to her fetus through the blood stream.
Two forms of secondhand smoke exist. Sidestream smoke refers to the smoke released into the air by the burning end of a cigarette, cigar or pipe, and mainstream smoke is the smoke exhaled by smokers. If you spend more than two hours in a room with someone who is smoking, you inhale the equivalent of four cigarettes. As of date of publication, secondhand smoke is a major problem in the workplace.
Health Complications
Breathing in secondhand smoke during pregnancy brings a wide variety of serious health risks to your unborn baby. Numerous studies show that pregnant women exposed to secondhand smoke experience a higher incidence of spontaneous abortions, ectopic pregnancies, premature births and still births. Secondhand smoke exposure can also cause a more difficult delivery, lower birth weight, sickly infants, respiratory disorders and even brain damage and sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS.
Prevention
No safe levels of secondhand smoke exist, so exposure should be avoided all together. Ventilation systems and smoking sections at work don't provide adequate protection. Fortunately, clean air policies have caused a variety of workplaces to adopt no-smoking environments. Eliminating smoking in the workplace and other locations such as restaurants has significantly reduced the level of secondhand smoke in public areas, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Additional Considerations
A third type of smoke exposure known as thirdhand smoke is considered another serious health hazard. This refers to the toxic gases and particles that remain after the smoke clears, clinging to items such as clothing, hair, couches and drapes. Breathing in these lingering toxins has been shown to cause respiratory problems such as asthma, learning disorders and cancer, according to the March of Dimes.
References
- Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids; Health Harms Caused By Pregnant Women Smoking or Being Exposed to Secondhand Smoke
- American Cancer Society: Secondhand Smoke
- Health Literacy: Smoking and Pregnancy
- New York State Department of Health; Secondhand Smoke - It Takes Your Breath Away; November 2000
- California Department of Public Health: Healthy Mom Healthy Baby
- University of Minnesota Division of Periodontology; Secondhand Smoke Facts; 2003
- March of Dimes; Smoking During Pregnancy; April 2010
- National Cancer Institute: Secondhand Smoke
