Is it Safe to Vape while you are Pregnant?

An update to the recommendation that pregnant women should not use e-cigarettes because they may contain chemicals that could harm the fetal brain.  The CDC and a 2016 Surgeon General report say that e-cigarettes are not safe for pregnant women.

The many reasons not to smoke when pregnant may be well known, but that hasn’t stopped some women from puffing away. A study found that the number of women who smoked an average of 10 or more cigarettes during their first trimester rose between 2018 and 2020. Right now, about 3 percent of pregnant women in the U.S. smoke, according to a new government report released that analyzed data from fetuses and newborns.

Smoke is, after all a smoke

E-cigarettes are likewise full of nicotine, which is a toxin. If you use e-cigarettes, the air that you breathe in contains harmful chemicals, like nicotine. Nicotine is bad for everyone, but particularly for women who are pregnant or may become pregnant, because regularly using nicotine could cause ectopic pregnancy.

Scientists and Obstetricians in Melbourne have been worried about the health risks of e-cigarettes for quite some time now. Earlier studies found that e-cigarette vapor damages lung tissue and leads to inflammation and potentially cancer. A new study finds that vapor may also affect a much more important organ: the reproductive system. The study was performed by researchers at the University of North Carolina’s School of Medicine and was published in the journal Human Reproduction.

Tobacco vs. vape

E-cigarettes and other nicotine products have been considered an alternative for cigarette smokers trying to quit or cut back on regular cigarettes. While this is a good public health movement, the disturbing thing about using nicotine products like e-cigarettes is that they contain nicotine which could be harmful to the fetus, even if there isn’t any tobacco in them.

Surprise! You can’t measure nicotine

As reported by KTVU, a San Francisco TV news station, a recent study found that nearly two-thirds of the e-cigarette cartridges and refill solutions they tested had levels of nicotine that were different than what was indicated on the label. The levels can be off by as much as 100%, meaning the cartridge or refill solution in your e-cig could actually contain double or half the nicotine you think it does!

Respiratory illness

Nicotine and flavors added to e-cigarettes helped a lot of people quit smoking, but e-cigs have been linked with the death of a Wyoming college student. The CDC warns that vaping can lead to adult-onset asthma. The FDA is concerned about safety concerns with e-cigarettes which have been linked to severe respiratory illnesses and deaths. It’s crucial that anyone who uses vaping products knows the potential danger and educates themselves about the actual risks.

Are you aware that vaping during pregnancy may lead to congenital disabilities in your baby? What does vape entail exactly? Does it affect the development of the fetus? Can it cause miscarriage? I’m sure you have a lot of questions; I sure did give the answers above. The choice is yours.