Cigarette smoke exposure during pregnancy and the occurrence of childhood asthma

Abstract

Overview of the topic: Tobacco smoke is harmful to smokers and those exposed to secondhand smoke, including unborn children. This dissertation investigates the connection between maternal exposure to cigarette smoke during pregnancy either from active smoking or second-hand smoke exposure, and the occurrence of asthma in early childhood. The research question: Does cigarette smoke exposure during any phase of the pregnancy lead to an increased incidence of asthma in children up to 6 years of age? PICO elements: The population (P) consisted of preschool-aged children. The issue of interest (I) looked at the maternal smoking or second-hand smoking during pregnancy. The comparison (C) was no cigarette smoke exposure during pregnancy. The outcome (O) measured was the occurrence of asthma in children. Methods: To conduct an efficient search through different databases, the PICO elements were used as keywords. Boolean operators and inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied to obtain the most relevant articles (two meta-analyses and four cohort studies). The key studies were then critically appraised with the help of the appraisal tools. Results: Five out of six selected studies showed a link between maternal cigarette smoke exposure during pregnancy and an increased incidence of asthma in young children with the results being statistically significant. One of the studies failed to demonstrate a relationship between the two. However, it did find a connection between maternal exposure to second-hand smoking in pregnancy and asthma occurrence in children. Conclusion: Maternal cigarette smoke exposure does lead to asthma in children. Regarding active smoking during pregnancy, further research is recommended. Implications and recommendations: Education on the harmful effects of cigarette smoke, especially for pregnant women, is crucial. Equally important is ensuring that nurses and midwives are well-informed on this topic so they can provide pregnant women with necessary information and support for smoking cessation, which should be encouraged and recommended.