Nicotine and e-cigarette use during pregnancy

Smoking cigarettes throughout pregnancy is one of the single most important avoidable causes of adverse pregnancy outcomes, resulting in severe short- and long-term negative effects for the mother and the unborn child (Mund et al, 2013). The harmful effects include premature delivery, low birthweight (Räisänen et al, 2014), and detrimental effects on the placenta, including tissue necrosis and fibrosis (Klesges et al, 1998), and intrauterine growth retardation (Bickerstaff et al, 2012). There is also an increased likelihood of the baby developing congenital abnormalities, with a higher incidence of facial, pulmonary, heart, gastrointestinal and renal malformations (Mund et al, 2013). Fetal neuronal development is also compromised (Julvez et al, 2007), with impairment of cognitive and verbal skills, leading to challenging behavioural traits (Yang et al, 2013).