Pregnant women who smoke are putting themselves at greater risk for developing pre-eclampsia according to a study conducted by the University of Nottingham and the Genetics of Pre-Eclampsia Consortium in the United Kingdom.

“Pre-eclampsia and eclampsia are the second most frequent cause of death in pregnancy in this country and cause an estimated 70,000 deaths worldwide among pregnant women each year,” said Fiona Broughton Pipkin, Professor of Perinatal Physiology at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in the School of Human Development. “In 2005, 742 babies died as a direct result of pregnancy hypertension in England and Wales. Ten times this number are delivered prematurely for the same reason. They risk short-term breathing problems, potential brain damage and long-term cardiovascular disease. The deaths are the tip of an iceberg for hospital admissions and worry for mothers, babies and families.”

The study of 1001 women found that smokers in the group are more likely to deliver prematurely (before 34 weeks), produce lower birth weight babies, or have babies with adverse outcomes than women who don’t smoke. Smokers were also five times more likely to develop eclampsia.

In a separate study researchers at the University are currently recruiting 1050 pregnant women for the most extensive trial of its kind to establish the effect of using nicotine patches during pregnancy.

Source: University of Nottingham