Vitamin C supplementation during pregnancy improves respiratory function in babies of pregnant smokers, according to a study. Stopping smoking remains a priority, however.
Whether one smokes one or ten cigarettes a day, pregnancy and tobacco remain a very high risk combination for both mother and child. Higher risk of miscarriage, higher rate of premature births or more complications during childbirth, more frequent sudden infant death, the damage caused by maternal smoking is numerous. However, if for many women, the prospect of having a child is also an opportunity to get rid of this addiction, for the most dependent, it remains mission impossible despite everything.
So a study which has just been presented at an American pulmonology congress will perhaps reassure these women. Indeed, this work, which has just been published simultaneously in the journal JAMA, reveals that a simple vitamin C supplementation could reduce certain harmful effects of tobacco in children, in particular on their respiratory function. This is good news as many studies have already shown that maternal smoking during pregnancy negatively affects the lung development of babies and leads to a greater risk of asthma.
Positive respiratory effects 1 year after birth
While previous work carried out in primates exposed to nicotine had shown the benefits of vitamin C on the development of lung function in their descendants, these researchers therefore attempted to transpose this experience to humans. Thus, they included in their study pregnant smokers, some receiving 500 mg of vitamin C per day and others, a placebo. In the end, 159 newborns of pregnant women who smoke took part in this study, with in particular respiratory measurement tests within 72 hours of their birth, then one year after their birth. As a result, the babies of women who received vitamin C supplements performed better on lung function tests performed a few days after birth. Even more surprisingly, it seems that the positive effect of this supplementation lasted at least until their 1er birthday. In fact, only 20% of children in the vitamin C group had wheezing at 1 year compared to 40% of children in the placebo group.
Quitting smoking remains the No. 1 objective
According to these researchers, more than 50% of smokers, once pregnant fail to stop. For them, this study highlights the benefit of implementing new interventions to reduce the respiratory risks of these children, in particular. “Although stopping smoking remains the goal, most pregnant smokers continue to smoke, which supports the need for pharmacological intervention,” say the authors. Other studies have shown that the reduced lung function of children of smokers continues into childhood and even until the age of 21 ”.
Although this work is still worth confirming, vitamin C supplementation in pregnant smokers could be a simple and inexpensive approach to lessen some of the effects of smoking on newborn lung function. “However, quitting smoking should be the primary goal for smokers who are planning to become pregnant or who are pregnant. By preventing her fetus from being exposed to tobacco smoke, a pregnant woman can do more for the respiratory and overall health of her child than any amount of vitamin C can ever be able to accomplish, ”concludes Prof. Graham L. Hall in an editorial accompanying this publication.
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