Medical Officer III Claire Caperal of the Bacolod City Health Office (CHO) recently issued a warning to expectant mothers to avoid both smoking and secondhand smoke, noting, such exposure may result in their baby contracting a viral infection; along with potentially developing poor resistance, asthma, and bronchial diseases.
“Maternal smoking or exposure to smoke during pregnancy is associated with premature detachment of the placenta, abnormal placenta attachment to the uterus, abnormal vaginal bleeding, and ruptured membranes,” she explained. “If the baby reaches full-term it could be born small or it will not reach its full term.”
The CHO official also noted secondhand smoke, which has residue that can remain in bed sheets and curtains, may also result in decreased lung function, increased blood pressure, headaches, acute lower respiratory infections, difficulty in breathing, burning eyes and throat, and ear infections.
During last June’s observance of “National No Smoking Month,” the Iloilo CHO called on the smoking public to kick the habit.
“Smoking has no benefit to the body,” explained city health officer, Dr. Bernard Caspe. “You will just get various diseases or cancer from head to foot.”
Around the same time, Bacolod City health advocates spoke before University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos students to discuss the dangers of secondhand smoke.
“It’s not enough that we don’t smoke, it is also important and we have to remember that secondhand smoke can also kill us,” explained Bacolod CHO non-communicable diseases cluster head, Dr. Ava Joy Infante./WDJ