P. KASAJOVÁ, E. KÚDELA, M. HRTÁNKOVÁ, Z. LAUČEKOVÁ, A. GONDOVÁ, I. ŠVECOVÁ, K. DÓKUŠ, P. ŽÚBOR, J. DANKO
Nicotine addiction is an important risk factor which is involved in the development of
many human diseases. Based on a number of scientific research link between smoking
in pregnancy and its negative effect on pregnancy, intrauterine foetal growth, perinatal
child’s condition and its further development have been demonstrated. The harmful
effects of cigarette smoking on birth weight are known as “ foetal tobacco syndrome”
- described in smoking mothers whose cigarette consumption is 5 or more. Smoking
mothers have up to 2-times higher risk of giving birth to a child with low birth weight.
Neonates born to mothers who smoke during pregnancy are around 200 grams lighter
and 1.4cm shorter than newborns of nonsmoking pregnant women. Literary sources
indicate that even involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke (i.e., passive smoking) is involved
in the reduction of birth weight in an average of 107 grams. It has been found
that certain maternal genotypes modify the association between cigarette addiction
and newborn birth weight. There is probably an interaction between smoking habits
and metabolic genes related to foetal growth.