South Middlesex Times

Quitting cigarettes during pregnancy may increase obesity-related complications for both parent and baby, but Rutgers Health researchers found that reductions in stillbirths and premature deliveries outweigh these dangers and speculated that nutrition counseling could increase the benefits.

"Cigarettes are a powerful appetite suppressant, so quitters tend to gain considerable weight, particularly when they are still going through withdrawal," said Morgan Dunn, a final year obstetrics and gynecology resident at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and lead author of the study. Dunn added, "The health benefits of quitting obviously exceed the dangers of extra weight for most people, but we wanted to see if that was true in pregnancy, where excessive weight gain poses significant dangers to both parent and child."

Dunn highlighted the findings of the study, stating, "We did find that quitting smoking during pregnancy was associated with significant extra weight gain above and beyond the weight gain others experienced during pregnancy, and we also found that quitting was associated with a significant increase in complications related to weight and blood pressure." Despite these challenges, Dunn recommended that doctors advise patients to quit smoking during pregnancy while offering nutrition counseling to minimize weight gain.

The research, published in Hypertension, analyzed over 22 million pregnancies to compare outcomes among smokers, nonsmokers, and those who quit smoking early in pregnancy. The study revealed that quitting smoking was associated with a more than 80 percent reduction in the rate of stillbirth, with persistent smokers facing a higher risk of preterm delivery compared to nonsmokers and quitters.

The study's senior author, Todd Rosen, the director of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, initiated the research based on a contrarian conjecture. Rosen shared, "The goal is for patients to get all the benefits and none of the drawbacks." He discussed his theory with colleague Cande Ananth, the medical school’s chief of the Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, who supported the idea that the benefits of quitting smoking during pregnancy outweigh the risks associated with weight gain.

In conclusion, the study underscores the importance of quitting cigarettes during pregnancy despite the potential for weight-related complications, as the benefits in reducing stillbirths and premature deliveries far exceed the risks.