If you want to ensure you receive your fair share of dirty looks, head to a public area and light up whilst pregnant. You’ll barely make it past putting your lighter back in your pocket before the death stares start coming your way.

Now I am not a woman (and thus not pregnant, for those slower on the uptake) but I have seen this first-hand and heard the mutterings as people get their best judging pants on and let rip. It is estimated that as many as 10% of expectant mothers in the US smoke whilst pregnant, despite the obvious health risks, and now some pictures have emerged which should drill the point home. This from Huffington Post:

Using high-definition ultrasound scans, scientists have shown that maternal smoking can alter the mouth and hand movements of the fetus, a finding that suggests some impairment of the fetus’ central nervous system development.

The top row of the images above show the face and movements of a fetus where the mother smoked daily, with the bottom row showing a fetus whose mother did not smoke.

Now what do these hand and face movements signify in the fetus itself? Huffington Post again:

The effects of smoking on the fetus’s hand and mouth movements are similar to those seen among fetuses whose mothers are highly stressed or depressed. However, the effects of nicotine exposure appear to be considerably more dramatic.

Why? The researchers hypothesize that when a fetus is exposed to nicotine, its central nervous system, which controls facial movements, does not “develop at the same rate and in the same manner” as in normal fetuses…”

Now I’m going to refrain from criticising any expectant mothers as the idea of carrying something for nine months and then pushing it out of my you-know-what is so far beyond anything I can imagine. Perhaps, though, you should think quite carefully before you light up your next ciggie.

[source:huffpost]