Abstract
Objective: It is suggested that smoking has adverse effects on pla- centa development by decreasing placental vascularization. Cigarette exposure is associated with intrauterine and perinatal death, preterm labor, ablatio placenta, placenta previa and intrauterine growth retardation. The aim of this study is to inves- tigate the effect of smoking on fetal Doppler ultrasound wave- forms and its pathophysiological relationship with fetal birth weight. Methods: The study was conducted in Gynecology and Obstetrics Department of Dokuz Eylul University between January 13th and 24th April 2011. One hundred nineteen single- ton pregnancies were included to the study. Group 1 consisted of 22 patients who were smoking 4-10 cigarettes daily. Group 2 con- sisted of 97 non-smoker patients before and during their pregnan- cies. Patients' maternal uterine, fetal umbilical and fetal middle cerebral arteries Doppler measurements were done on 37th week of gestation. Results: Weight gain in the Group 1 was statistically higher than non-smoking patients. There were statistically significant changes in fetal Doppler measurements, but no difference was found in maternal Doppler waveforms between the two groups. Maternal uterine artery Doppler waveforms were similar in both groups; in fact fetal umbilical artery and middle cerebral artery waveforms were statistically higher for Group 1. Conclusion: Cigarette contains nicotine, carbon monoxide and thousands of other toxic chemicals. Carbon monoxide reduces the oxygen transfer to the fetus. Chronic tobacco use decreases pla- cental blood flow, hypoxic pathologic environment occurs, and changes appear on fetal Doppler ultrasound waveforms.
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