Avoid second-hand smoke in pregnancy

Women exposed to second-hand smoke during pregnancy, are likely to give birth to children with mental problems. Second hand smoking in expecting mothers can result in children with psychological problems such as conduct disorder, attention deficits and behaviour problems. Therefore, besides direct exposure, passive smoking can also pose a threat to expecting mothers and their children. Yet debate continues as to whether this association reflects a direct effect of nicotine on fetal brain development or is it an indicator of inherited problem passed from mother to child. Researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle, examined the relation between mother's smoking and child behaviour among 133 women and their 7-15-year-old children, who had serious psychiatric problems. Mothers of children in one group had smoked while pregnant, while mothers of kids in the second group didn't smoke but had been exposed to second-hand smoke. Mothers in the third group didn't smoke and had no exposure to second-hand smoke. The results showed that chronic fetal exposure to other people's cigarette smoke could affect psychological as well as physical health. Children of smokers, as well as of women exposed to secondhand smoke, were much more likely than the offspring of non-exposed women to have externalising behaviour, which include acting out, getting in trouble, being aggressive, or breaking rules. Such behaviour is controlled by the brain's dopamine system, which could be damaged by fetal smoke exposure. The dopamine system in the brain gets over stimulated during pregnancy. As a result of this, children who were exposed to smoke in the womb have colic and are hard to soothe as infants. As toddlers they are overactive and oppositional. Later on they are irritable, inattentive and low on pleasure. Heavy second-hand exposure proves almost the same as the mother smoking herself. Therefore, to avoid this risk, pregnant women should keep away from both passive as well as active smoke.