Smoking puts your unborn child at risk, women told

Published on Sunday 30 May 2010 23:02

UNBORN babies are still being put at risk because of their parents' smoking, doctors will warn today.

While the number of women smoking in pregnancy has fallen since the 1990s, a fifth of mothers-to-be continue their habit, despite growing evidence of the harm this can cause, the British Medical Association (BMA) Scotland said.

The organisation is calling on parents to mark World No Tobacco Day today by giving up the habit to improve the health of their children. It comes as anti-smoking charity ASH Scotland criticised the marketing of tobacco to women and girls, with methods such as product placement in films and more attractive packaging being designed to appeal to them.

The BMA warned not enough was being done to warn parents about the consequences of smoking for their unborn child. The dangers include an increased risk or premature birth, stillbirth and cot death.

Research shows that, with each cigarette a pregnant woman smokes, the blood flow through the placenta is reduced for about 15 minutes, causing the baby's heart rate to increase.

Dr Sally Winning, deputy chairman of BMA Scotland, said: "Around one in five women smokes during pregnancy and, although this is an improvement on previous years, it reflects the lack of knowledge among Scots about the health risks of smoking, not only to themselves, but to the health of their children."

Dr Winning said it was essential that the Scottish Government tackled the issue of parental smoking: "Parents should be educated about the effects of smoking, not just on their own health, but to their children."

Yesterday, the Scottish Government said reducing smoking among pregnant women was a key priority.

A spokesman added: "The wider action we are taking to shift cultural attitudes to smoking, and to stop young people starting in the first place, such as the ban on cigarette displays and cigarette sales from vending machines, is also key to reducing smoking."

ASH Scotland marked World No Tobacco Day by calling for cigarette companies to be prevented from aggressively marketing products to women.

The charity said research showed that the tobacco industry was using cigarette packets more effectively as a "marketing tool" to recruit smokers, as other methods of promoting their products were banned.

But Christopher Ogden, chief executive of the Tobacco Manufacturers' Association, dismissed the report, saying: "It is the right of all parties to present their case when seeking to inform the legislative process in order to ensure that regulation is fair and evidence-based."