Mothers using nicotine gum to avoid smoking in pregnancy 'put unborn babies at risk'

Pregnant women using nicotine patches and gum to help kick their smoking habit are harming their unborn babies, scientists claim.
They say the addictive substance is absorbed by the foetus and this can cause high blood pressure and heart problems later in life.
American researchers suspect that nicotine causes harmful chemicals to form in the babies’ blood vessels while they are still in the womb.
These chemicals, known as reactive oxygen species, permanently damage the blood vessels so they are unable to function properly, which can lead to high blood pressure and heart problems.
Women who smoke are strongly urged to give up during pregnancy as the cigarettes harm the baby putting them at much higher risk of cot death, being born premature, deformaties and illnesses in childhood.
Although doctors advise them to try and give up without nicotine patches or gum, many find it too difficult.
In the past packets of nicotine patches and chewing gum used to display warnings saying they should not be taken by pregnant women – along with those with heart, liver and kidney problems.


But in 2006 the Government removed this advice claiming that advantages of the treatments in helping mothers stop smoking far outweighed their risks.
In a study published in the British Journal of Pharmacology, researchers showed that baby rats whose mothers had been exposed to nicotine had higher blood pressure.

Substitute: Patches and gum help many to give up smoking - but it might not be harmless for pregnant women

High blood pressure is known to increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes as it puts extra strain on the arteries and heart.
Dr DaLiao Xiao, from the Loma Linda University School of Medicine in California, said: 'We have found distinct links between cigarette smoking or even using nicotine patches or gum and the long-term harm for the child.'
More than a quarter of mothers in Britain either smoked during pregnancy or gave up as soon as they found out they were expecting, according to NHS figures.
The exact numbers who used nicotine patches or chewing gum is not known.
Doctors advise pregnant women who need some form of nicotine therapy are advised to chew gum rather than patches as it is less strong.
Professor Jeremy Pearson, Associate Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation, said: 'This study provides further evidence that nicotine exposure during pregnancy not only has immediate harmful effects on the foetus, but may increase the risk of heart and circulatory disease in children as they grow up.  
'Any form of nicotine is bad for women during pregnancy but nicotine replacement therapy, like patches or gum, is better than smoking.
'There is lots of help out there for smokers wanting to quit that doesn’t involve nicotine, so there really is no excuse for expectant mums not kick the habit and avoid putting their children at unnecessary risk.'