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Tobacco Free Initiative |
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Key areas and groups Women Cigarette smoking by mums is the no. 1 cause of underweight babies - All Told There Are 43 Causes of Low Birth-Weight -- Cigarette smoking is the first of 43 identified causes of underweight newborns in industrialized countries, ranking even ahead of a badly nourished mother as a threat to a child’s life. "Smoking has a strong direct impact" on the weight of the new-born, and as a consequence on its survival, according to a review of about 900 studies on low birth-weight by the World Health Organization (WHO). The studies were carried out over 15 years, from 1970 to 1984, in populations where a sizeable proportion of women smoked during pregnancy. Of 120 studies on how cigarette smoking affects birth-weight, some thirty showed "birth-weight impairment increasing with the number of cigarettes smoked each day." The review was undertaken by Professor Michael Kramer of the Departments of Paediatrics and of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McGill University, Montreal. It is published under the title "Determinants of Low Birth Weight: Methodological Assessment and Meta-Analysis. A baby’s survival depends mainly on weight at birth. A newborn child weighing less than 2,500 grams (5 lbs 8ozs), according to WHO, is of low birth-weight and its health is endangered. The babies of mothers who smoke during pregnancy weigh on the average between 200 to 300 grams (7 to 10 ozs) less than other babies. The baby’s growth in the fetus is retarded mainly by the carbon monoxide and nicotine in cigarettes of a smoking mother. Carbon monoxide reduces the flow of oxygen to the unborn infant, and nicotine diminishes the appetite of the mother. A woman smoking half a pack -- 10 cigarettes -- a day during pregnancy is likely to give birth to a baby that is at least 100 grams underweight. Smoking after the fourth month of pregnancy, according to a British study, retards birth-weight most. However, if a mother quits by that time, her baby’s weight is likely to approximate that of babies born to non-smoking women. "Women who stopped smoking during pregnancy gave birth to infants of similar birth-weight to those who did not smoke, or who stopped before becoming pregnant,’ the review states. In addition, a U.S. study showed "a higher mean birth-weight for infants born to smoking women who were randomly assigned to anti-smoking counselling" following the fourth month of pregnancy, Most underweight babies however, are born in the Third World. Of the 127 million babies born in 1982, according to WHO estimates 20 million weighted less than 2,500 grams. Over 90 per cent of that number were babies born in developing countries, The following listing, based on 1984 data, gives the percentage of low—weight babies in 18 developing countries: - China, 6 per cent; Iraq, 6.1 per cent; Egypt, 7 per cent; Tunisia, 7.3 per cent; Brazil and Chile, 9 per cent each; Colombia, 10 per cent; Malaysia, 10.6 per cent; Mexico, 11.7 per cent; Kenya, 12.8 per cent; Indonesia and Iran, 14 per cent each; Tanzania, 14.4 per cent; Zaire, 15.9 per cent; Guatemala, 17.9 per cent; Nigeria, 18 per cent; Pakistan 27 per cent; and India 30 per cent. In developed countries, "the most important single factor, by far" in retarded birth-weight is cigarette smoking, the review states, followed by poor nutrition, and low pre-pregnancy weight of the mother. In developing countries, where women smokers are in the minority, the important factors are racial origin, poor nutrition, low pre-pregnancy weight and small statures of mothers, plus malaria. The youth of mothers, the weight and height of the fathers and alcohol, are among the 43 causes given for low-weight babies.
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