Research by DoM's Dr. Paige Lacy and team reveals vaping in pregnancy is harmful for babies and mothers
27 January 2025
By Gillian Rutherford, Folio
A University of Alberta research team is sending out a vehement warning that vaping is not a safe alternative to smoking during pregnancy.
In a recently published paper in the Journal of Hazardous Materials, the researchers reviewed evidence from studies around the world and concluded that using e-cigarettes during pregnancy is associated with harmful outcomes for both mothers and their babies.
“Our recommendation is very straightforward,” says Subhabrata Moitra, assistant professor at the Bagchi School of Public Health at Ahmedabad University in India and former postdoctoral fellow at the U of A. “If a mother is smoking while pregnant, ask her to stop because there is no safe alternative.”
Twenty-three studies reported on a total of 924,376 participants, with 7,552 reporting vaping-only use during pregnancy.
The evidence showed that prenatal vaping was associated with 53 per cent higher odds of an adverse outcome for mothers — particularly decreased breastfeeding and reduced prenatal care — when compared with not smoking or vaping during pregnancy.
Vaping during pregnancy was also associated with 53 per cent higher odds of an adverse outcome for newborns — including low birth weight, preterm birth and small size for gestational age — all of which increase the likelihood of problems like high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes and respiratory problems later in life.
“The fetus is exquisitely sensitive to environmental chemicals present in the mother’s blood. This can interfere with cell division, an incredibly delicate process,” says professor of medicine Paige Lacy. “These are chemicals that are teratogenic, which means they may be tolerated by adults but the fetus cannot tolerate them.”