Can pregnant women smoke hookah?

It is extremely difficult to get rid of addictions in the form of smoking. But when a girl only finds out about pregnancy, she has to radically revise her habits. Of course, you will have to refuse cigarettes in any case, but what to do with their alternative, a hookah? After all, it is also prepared on the basis of tobacco, which in the process of smoking emits tarry compounds and settles in the respiratory tract. According to some reports, hookah is even more harmful than cigarettes, so the danger to the fetal development of the fetus and the expectant mother is enormous. Let's deal with everything in more detail.

Smoking hookah during pregnancy

Nicotine, tar, and toxic substances, which act as toxic poisons, are present in cigarette smoke. All of them lead to the incorrect formation of the fetus, therefore once smoking women after conception prefer the “pipe of the world”.

Indeed, a hookah is safer because milk or water acts as a filtering link. All the most dangerous poisons remain 40% in the liquid, but this does not mean harmlessness for the expectant mother and her child under the heart.

In the hookah smoke there are other compounds that negatively affect health. We are talking about dangerous arsenic, chrome, lead. All of them are not filtered, as a result of which they penetrate the body. Also hookah nicotine is much more concentrated than cigarette.

Harmful hookah for pregnant women

When tobacco burns under the obvious influence of hot coals, all compounds remain in the hookah cavity. Some part is held back by the filter in the form of whole high-fat milk or purified water. If you adhere to the opinion of researchers who have already studied the “tube of the world” along and across, it is worth saying that the filter works by about 40%.

During a puff through a hookah pipe, the child in the womb literally suffocates, is deprived of oxygen. Hence, the risk of developing fetal hypoxia (oxygen deficiency) significantly increases. And this happens only after the first puff. After the second and all subsequent vessels are narrowed, which further complicates the flow of oxygen to the placenta.

Add to this a significant release of carbon monoxide and toxic substances from hookah smoke. The result is sad, a hookah can provoke the most serious consequences up to congenital pathologies and intrauterine malformations. It is also possible that the baby will be born with a naturally low immune system, will lag behind in development.

There are frequent cases when in expectant mothers carrying a baby under the heart, the baby is born prematurely. Prematurity is a consequence of smoking cigarettes and hookah.

The baby is born in the minimum weight category of about 2.5 kg. At the same time, the chest and head are small, this is a consequence of developmental disorders inside the womb. The future life of the child is noticeably aggravated, he is prone to allergic reactions and colds.

It is also worth knowing that the consequences of your smoking during pregnancy may not immediately affect the baby. Usually it takes years, it is possible that the child is already attending kindergarten or school (4-6 years). Usually in such situations, children complain of poor memory, learning difficulties and other intellectual difficulties.

Myths about smoking a hookah

1. Most people claim that the hookah is practically harmless and will not do anything bad to the health of the mother and baby. Allegedly, cigarettes are much more dangerous. Such people cite the argument that the hookah contains much less tar.
2. Also, when smoking a hookah, smoke passes through water. In addition, a similar way to relax is supposedly not addictive. If you look at the world with sober eyes, it should be noted that such myths have long been destroyed by scientists.
3. Numerous studies have shown that tobacco for hookah is many times more harmful than cigarette. In the first case, the nicotine content is several times higher than cigarettes. A standard pack of tobacco for a hookah is enough for about 4 times smoking.
4. As a result, about 6.3 mg enters the body at a time. nicotine. Moreover, in one smoked cigarette, this figure fluctuates around 0.8 mg. Do not think that water will contain most of the toxin. A pregnant girl gets a huge dose of poison.
5. Do not forget that in any tobacco smoke in large quantities there is carbon monoxide and nicotine. In total, with one puff of hookah, up to 6 times more heavy metals, nicotine, carbon monoxide and resins enter the blood and the whole body.
6. Separately, it is worth noting the coals through which tobacco is ignited under high temperature. This combination promotes the penetration into the body of a dangerous substance in the form of benzapyrene. Such a compound is a very harmful carcinogen, which contributes to the development of cancer pathologies.
7. In addition, the production of tobacco for smoking is practically not controlled in any way, it is extremely difficult to keep track of such a process. Therefore, no one can be 100% sure of the quality of the consumed products. In such smoking mixtures there is a huge amount of flavorings and flavor enhancers that are very harmful.
8. Various liquid compounds that fill the hookah flask purify the smoke only to a small part. This is a marketing ploy. People both poisoned and continue to do this, believing everything that manufacturers and distributors of such products say.
9. Even with a minimal amount of toxins that can penetrate the placenta to the developing fetus in the first trimester of pregnancy, they provoke serious violations in the development of the baby. It should also be noted that hookah is even more addictive. Do not believe everything that is said about this.
10. Do not forget that the same nicotine is present in hookah tobacco, but in a higher concentration. Dependence on this simply cannot fail to develop. It should also be noted the frequency of such events. Nicotine-free mixtures quickly get bored, hence the desire to try something stronger.
11. When a person is inhaled by hookah or cigarette smoke, he receives practically the same harm as his lungs allow him to do. Here you should pay attention to a separate nuance. You smoke a cigarette for about 4 minutes, and hookah for at least half an hour. It is easy to draw conclusions yourself.
12. It is worth noting that when smoking a regular cigarette, about 420 ml is released. smoke. If you smoke a hookah, then the amount of smoke you can safely multiply 3-4 times. It is important to understand that even filtering will not save the body of a pregnant woman from carbon monoxide. You also get a huge amount of toxins.

To date, you can find many manufacturing companies who claim that their products are safe due to the lack of nicotine. But in fact, in such tobacco the concentration of other harmful substances such as acetaldehyde, hydrocarbon, resinous compounds is increased. Therefore, do not fall for tricks, hookah is prohibited.

Video: the harm from smoking a hookah - the answers to all questions!