Smoking during pregnancy is something all doctors advise against but there could be some serious risks associated with the alternatives too.
Vaping and nicotine patches are often used by women who struggle to give up cigarettes while pregnant.
Researchers have said that these methods could put babies at a greater risk of cot death.
A study has found that any form of nicotine increases the chances of the phenomenon, also known as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
Nicotine in the womb can affect a baby’s growing central nervous system and their cardio-respiratory responses to stressful situations.
This means a higher risk of asphyxia, whereby the body is deprived of oxygen.
In experiments involving rats nicotine from e-cigarettes and nicotine patches affected the gasp reflex, which automatically restarts breathing.
While a clear cause for SIDS has never been established, it’s believed to be linked to an inability to gasp.
“Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is such a distressing tragedy for families,” study author Stella Lee of the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, New Hampshire said.
“We still don’t fully understand the causes, but this research is important because it helps mothers reduce the risk.”
There are a number of risk factors associated with cot death.
Parents are urged not to let babies sleep anywhere except in a cot on their back and without any blankets or loose bedding that could lead to suffocation.
Research earlier this year showed that a there genetics may also play a role in cot death.
Despite a reduction in cases over the past few decades, SIDS is still one of the leading causes of death among infants, with the majority of cases occurring between the two-month and four-month mark.
