Washington, March 19: Babies born to mothers with obesity and exposed to passive smoking are at a greater health risk because they reduce oxygen supply to the unborn child, doctors have said.
A team led by pediatricians from the National Research Centre in Cairo have found that obesity and passive smoking are risk factors for the unborn child, Science Daily reported.
“Foetal development during the last half of pregnancy depends on maternal metabolic adjustments detected by placental hormones and the subsequent oxygen and nutrient supply,” lead author Abd ElBaky said.
ElBaky said, “If these are compromised, through obesity issues or exposure to tobacco smoke, then serious problems can occur”.
“The mechanisms that link the raised levels of immature blood cells in the samples to obesity and passive smoking are complicated. Obesity is known to affect metabolism, hormones, blood pressure and other physiological factors”.
This conclusion is based on evidence of elevated levels of nucleated red blood cells in the umbilical cord reported in the International Journal of Food Safety, Nutrition and Public Health.
The team compared NRBC count in umbilical blood in three groups. Group I neonates (29 infants) were born to obese mothers. Group II (21 babies) were born to mothers exposed to tobacco smoke during pregnancy and a control group III (15 members).
The researchers found that NRBC count was higher in groups I and II compared to the control group III. They also found that maternal body mass index (BMI) and infant birth weight were significantly higher in group I.
“Raised levels of NRBCs are indicative of a degraded oxygen supply to the baby during the pregnancy,” ElBaky said. Tobacco smoke inhalation whether direct or indirect may affect the amount of oxygen reaching the unborn child, because haemoglobin is poorly oxygenated.
Nicotine can also cause narrowing of blood vessels, vasoconstriction, and so reduce oxygen supply through that mechanism too.
The team speculates that even apparently healthy newborns of obese mothers and passive smokers may suffer subtle effects of the reduced oxygen levels during pregnancy.
“We recommended that every effort to control maternal obesity and prevent exposure to tobacco smoke be made,” the team said.
“Smoking regulations in the workplace and at home should be enforced strictly for the well-being of our infants,” they added.
—–PTI