Tobacco is related to a few harmful effects for the baby during pregnancy. Since it can cause cleft lip, hyperactivity, behavioral problems, low birth weight and even Down syndrome, among a long list of conditions. Now it is also linked to visual problems. Specifically, a study states that smoking in pregnancy could cause strabismus in the baby.
Research findings give thinking. Each cigarette that a pregnant woman ignites raises the risk of her baby developing strabismus by 5 percent, a vision defect that involves the deviation of the alignment of the eyes, which in the most severe cases can cause a loss of vision .
The study found that pregnant smokers were 26 percent more likely to have a baby with strabismus than non-smokers.
This risk is not limited to the first trimester, but extends throughout the pregnancy and in fact, increases it. During the second quarter the risk rose to 43 percent and in the third to 35 percent.
The amount of cigarettes the pregnant woman smokes also influences. A consumption of ten or more cigarettes per day was related to 90 percent more risk.
The causes of strabismus are not known for sure, but the exposure of the fetus to harmful substances such as tobacco could be one of them by causing alterations in the developing brain of the baby.
Even so, it is hard to understand why most smokers do not quit during pregnancy. I understand that it should not be easy, but more and more reasons are known to do so. Tobacco and pregnancy are incompatible.
