Blog 4 Current Event

In a study carried out by Oncken and colleagues revealed that the use of nicotine gum by pregnant women is helpful in a way. Smoking can cause a premature birth or a low-birthweight baby being born. The study put two groups into observation. One was given the nicotine gum and the other a placebo gum. The main thing was to get smoking women to reduce the amount of cigarettes smoked during the time of pregnancy. The group that received the nicotine gum averaged a loss of 5.7 cigarettes per day. The placebo group exhibited a loss of only 3.5 cigarettes a day. The infants from mothers in the nicotine gum group were significantly heavier than those in the placebo group, on average. Still, Oncken and colleagues recommended not to use the gum regularly on a daily basis during a pregnancy because of evidence that the nicotine can cause cell anamolies that may cause sudden infant death syndrome.

http://www.revolutionhealth.com/articles/nicotine-gum-has-benefits-in-pregnant-smokers/reut-20081007elin023