Secondhand smoke may increase women’s risk for delivering stillborn babies

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Secondhand smoke may increase women’s risk for delivering stillborn babies

By far, my most read and controversial blog this year was, on the “Surgeon general issuing new tobacco warnings.” Now comes another report also likely to stir this pot.In the previous blog, I wrote, “Congrats to the new Surgeon General, for taking an even stronger stand on tobacco in her recent report, ‘How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease.'”
I went on to say, “the report has found that ‘ANY exposure’ to tobacco smoke can cause immediate damage to the human body and “there is NO safe level of exposure to cigarette smoke.'”
Furthermore, “inhaling even the SMALLEST amount of tobacco smoke can also damage your DNA, which can lead to cancer.”
Now WebMD is reporting, “Pregnant women who don’t smoke but breathe the secondhand smoke of others have an increased risk for delivering stillborn babies or babies with birth defects,” according to an analysis in the journal Pediatrics.
Researchers analyzed “19 studies that examined birth outcomes among nonsmoking women exposed to tobacco smoke during pregnancy. The data showed a 23% increase in the risk of stillbirth associated with passive smoke exposure and a 13% increase in the risk of birth defects.”
CNN “The Chart” blog reported, “The scientists aren’t exactly sure what levels of secondhand smoke are dangerous, but they do think the more exposure the higher the risks.
So, let the comments and critique begin. But if I were a young woman of reproductive age, I’d stay as far away from tobacco smoke as I could.

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