Vaping Around Pregnancy: Risks to Mom and Baby

We already know that tobacco use and vaping during pregnancy are linked to increased risks during pregnancy and for babies in utero, such as preterm birth, low birth weight, and being too small for gestational age, as found in a study.

But did you know that second-hand vape exposure also exposes you to the same, if not more, maternal and fetal health risks?

In this article, we go through everything you need to know about passive vaping, what it does to you and your baby, and what you can do to avoid it.

You don’t have to vape yourself to be exposed to nicotine. When someone else vapes indoors, the vapor can condense on surfaces.

This leaves a residue of ultrafine particles that can easily be absorbed through your skin and penetrate deep into your lungs and bloodstream.

Being exposed to second-hand vaping is bad for everyone exposed. Still, it is especially harmful during pregnancy, as it can complicate your pregnancy, affect babies in utero, and have long-lasting effects on their lives.

A vape, also known as an e-cigarette, is an electronic device that lets the user breathe in nicotine in vapor form instead of using a traditional tobacco cigarette that burns and produces smoke.

Vape manufacturers claim that it is a less harmful alternative to tobacco, but the risk still remains and still exposes the user (and the people around them) to harmful nicotine, heavy metals, and other toxic substances.

RELATED READ: Vaping Among Filipino Teens Is Rising: Why Parents Need to Pay Attention

The invisible residue particles from someone else’s vape smoke can stay on surfaces and walls for hours or even up to several days, depending on the room size and air movement.

These particles can spread more than 3 meters from the smoker, and more surfaces are exposed if the smoker is also moving around while smoking. Heavier use or more people vaping will also build up a denser concentration of these chemicals, making them last longer.

To clear a room of the remaining particles, air it out by opening the doors and windows, and use a fan to move the air out of the room.

Second-hand vaping is harmful because it exposes you to many of the same chemicals that smokers are exposed to. This includes nicotine, other toxic heavy metals, cancer-causing chemicals, and even flavoring agents.

Nicotine exposure can produce toxic chemicals like formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and acrolein. It is also an addictive substance found in vapes and can harm brain development in fetuses.

Meanwhile, other chemicals like formaldehyde and benzene can cause damage at a cellular level and potentially cause cancer later in life.

And of course, let’s not forget inhaling the vapor from vaping. If you have sensitive lungs, being in the same room as someone vaping can cause lung irritation, trigger coughing fits, wheezing, and throat and eye irritation.

If you have asthma, it can also trigger sudden asthma attacks and make breathing harder just by being in proximity to the person vaping.

Like smoking, vape exposure exposes pregnant moms to nicotine, heavy metals, and toxic chemicals. When these substances enter a person’s system, the vapor has the capacity to irritate the lungs.

Now, when these chemicals go deeper into the body through the bloodstream, they can also stress the cardiovascular system, increasing the risk of high blood pressure. This can potentially lead to pregnancy complications, such as preeclampsia, as found in this study.

This kind of exposure to nicotine is also linked to placental stress and may contribute to complications during labor. Overall, it increases the already high risks pregnancy poses to a woman and heightens them further.

Exposure to second-hand vaping can have damaging effects on babies in utero. The moment the toxic chemicals enter the mom’s bloodstream, they can impair the delivery of oxygen and nutrients.

This can lead to major pregnancy complications, such as an increased risk of stillbirth, preterm birth, and even sudden infant death syndrome later on. The effects of vaping can also contribute to intrauterine growth restriction, as mentioned in the aforementioned study.

Another study we found has published that vaping exposure during pregnancy can contribute to developmental problems in fetuses, such as being too small for their gestational age and consequently having a lower weight than is healthy when they are born.

But the effects of second-hand vaping on babies do not just go away. The same study has found that it can have long-term effects on their lives. This is because their exposure to vaping as fetuses can lead to long-lasting changes to their immune cell responses in their brains, lungs, and bone marrow.

What does this mean? It means their immune systems are damaged from the start, as exposure to these harmful chemicals so early in life specifically weakens the cells that fight infections and cancer, compromising their immune systems as a whole.

Now that we know the dangers of being a passive smoker, how do we avoid them during pregnancy?

When it comes to our private places, such as your home and car, it’s quite easy to politely ask people not to vape or smoke within the premises. After all, most, if not all, Filipinos are considerate when it comes to pregnant moms. Even the heaviest smokers will excuse themselves for a smoke on their own without needing to be asked.

In public spaces, avoid designated smoking areas, or if someone is smoking in your vicinity, move to a smoke-free place. Avoid locations you know are likely to have many smokers, such as concerts and festivals.

Avoid riding in the vehicles of people in your life whom you know are smokers, and if you can, avoid visiting them in their homes as well, where the vaping residue can linger. Ask politely to meet them at your home or in a third space.

Want to know more about IUI? This article lists where to get the treatment and how much it costs.