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Vitamin C And Pregnancy - Help For Smoking Moms |
By:
Rebecca Prescott |
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Whilst most women are aware of the negative effects smoking
whilst pregnant can have on their developing baby, many still
cannot give up. The good news is that researchers believe that
taking vitamin C can counteract some of these effects.
Smoking during pregnancy can lead to premature delivery of the
baby, poor growth, and in some instances, is implicated in fetal
deaths. It can also affect the way the infant's lungs develop,
as nicotine can cross the placenta. As a result, babies may have
less lung function and develop more respiratory illnesses.
But a group of researchers at the Oregon Health & Science
University found that in baby monkeys given both nicotine and
vitamin C, the flow of air in the lungs was close to normal.
There were three groups of pregnant monkeys in the study - one
group was given only nicotine, one given neither nicotine nor
vitamin C, and one group given both. The nicotine given was
comparable to that which a pregnant mother would smoke. The
group given nothing acted as the control group.
Whilst this study was done on monkeys, the team behind the study
believe that the results are very relevant to humans. But more
work needs to be done to determine how much vitamin C is needed
for smoking pregnant mothers to get similar benefits. And to
ensure that higher amounts of vitamin C during pregnancy doesn't
cause other unwanted effects.
The researchers did stress that despite the positive benefits of
vitamin C during pregnancy, it did not counteract all of
smoking's negative effects on the fetus. For example, lower body
weight and nicotine's effect on brain development were still a
potential issue.
Another benefit of taking vitamin C during pregnancy is that it
may decrease the chance of their waters breaking too early. This
is true for all women irrespective of whether they are smokers
or not. This research was done by a team in Mexico at the
National Institute of Perinatology, this time on humans. The
women in this study were either given a placebo or 100mg of
vitamin C per day. And the group who received the vitamin C had
a lot less instances where their waters broke early. This meant
less premature births with the associated risk of infections.
The women in the study received the vitamin C from the 20th week
of pregnancy until they gave birth. Vitamin C helps maintain the
collagen in the membranes that hold the amniotic fluid in place.
References:
1. nutraingredients-usa.com/news/ng.asp?id=59359
2. nutraingredients-usa.com/news/ng.asp?id=59843
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Article Source: http://www.friendsofvista.org/articles/article29733.html |
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