Any nicotine in pregnancy ‘increases risk of sudden infant death’, scientists warn
USING any nicotine in pregnancy could harm your baby, experts claim.
Expectant mothers who use vapes, gum or patches may have a higher risk of “sudden infant death” in their children.
While the dangers of smoking in pregnancy are well known, research suggests replacement products are also not risk-free.
Swedish scientists tracked more than 2million babies over 20 years to see how nicotine affected them.
Dr Anna Gunnerbeck, of the Karolinska Institutet, said: “Given the growing popularity of e-cigarettes, women need to be informed of the potential risk to foetuses and infants.”
Around 3.2million people in the UK use e-cigarettes, with officials concerned about rising use in teenagers.
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Research suggests e-cigarettes are significantly less dangerous to people’s health than regular cigarettes, reducing the risks of deadly illnesses like cancer and heart disease.
Current evidence also suggests they are much less harmful during pregnancy than smoking, with the NHS advising they are “much safer for you and your baby”.
Vapes do not contain tar or carbon monoxide, which are particularly harmful to developing babies.
However, their full impact is not yet known due to their relative newness to the market.
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Other nicotine replacement therapy can be prescribed by GPs to help pregnant women quit smoking when pregnant.
The latest study, published in Pediatric Research, looked at the impact of nicotine specifically on babies’ health.
Researchers surveyed mothers who gave birth from 1999 to 2019 in Sweden to see whether they smoked or used snus — a tobacco product placed in the gums.
Swedish snus is high in nicotine but is not burned like cigarettes, so is considered similar to vaping and other nicotine products, the researchers said.
They cross referenced this with whether their child died while in the womb or from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) — the unexpected death of an apparently healthy baby.
Babies were three times more likely to die if their mothers used either product.
The researchers said the findings suggest all nicotine products could pose a risk.
Dr Gunnerbeck said: “Our study indicates that nicotine is a risk factor of sudden infant death, so we conclude that all types of nicotine products should be avoided during pregnancy.”
She told The Sun: "It is true that we have only studied smoking and Swedish snuff.
"Swedish snuff — in contrast to American snuff — contains very high levels of nicotine but no combustion products and very low levels of nitrosamines.
"The common substance between cigarettes and Swedish snuff is nicotine.
"Animal studies of prenatal nicotine, have showed similar results as studies of infants of smoking mothers, which is why nicotine is believed to be involved in the mechanism."
But campaigners insist women who smoke should not be put off nicotine replacement products when trying to quit during pregnancy.
Hazel Cheeseman, of Action on Smoking and Health, told The Sun: “Smoking in pregnancy is a known risk for sudden infant death.
“Further evidence that snus may pose a risk to babies is concerning.
“However, mothers using nicotine replacement therapy or vapes to quit tobacco use during pregnancy should be reassured that this does not mean these products are harmful.
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“In fact, nicotine replacement products are licensed medicines for use in pregnancy and have been shown to be safe.
“It is important that mothers and the people they live with do not smoke during pregnancy and keep any smoke outside once the baby is born to reduce the risk of harm to the baby.”