SMOKING DURING PREGNANCY AND ITS EFFECTS ON THE FETUS

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Abstract
Summary: The smoking habits of a group of pregnant women have been recorded and related to the level of carboxyhaemoglobin (COHb) in the circulating blood. Simultaneous maternal and fetal COHb levels at delivery were estimated and on average the fetal levels were 1.8 times greater than the related maternal level. Samples of fetal blood were exposed to carbon monoxide in vitro and an appreciable shift to the left of the haemoglobin dissociation curve was demonstrated. Cigarette smoking during pregnancy diminishes the oxygen carrying capacity of both fetal and maternal blood, affects maternal oxygenation by increased pulmonary venous admixture and diminishes the oxygen available to the fetus at the tissue level by its effect on fetal oxyhaemoglobin dissociation.