E-cigarettes in pregnancy and breastfeeding: yes or no?

Is it possible to smoke e-cigarettes while pregnant ? As with traditional cigarettes , the answer is once again no , here’s why.

A recent study published in Jama Pediatrics showed that there is a slight increase in the number of women who smoke electronic cigarettes during pregnancy, probably because expectant mothers believe, despite the studies, that the new electronic nicotine administration systems are more safer than traditional cigarettes.

Women should by now know the harms of smoking during pregnancy such as limitation of fetal growth, the risk of placental abruption, fetal development abnormalities and much more, but they are not sufficiently informed about electronic cigarettes.

While e-products are touted as a better alternative to conventional cigarettes and, in some cases, as a smoking cessation tool, many experts suggest that pregnant women should avoid e-cigarettes.

Electronic cigarettes: a growing phenomenon

Electronic cigarettes are a fairly new product on the market, so the first results on their impact on health have only recently begun to appear.

Electronic cigarettes have had a strong commercialization only in the last 10 years, finding a relatively easy success, especially among adolescents and young adults.

Just to make you understand the commercial phenomenon they represent, between 2017 and 2018, according to the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , the use of electronic cigarettes among young Americans increased by 78%.

The researchers analyzed data from 27,920 women aged 18 to 44 , and therefore of reproductive age. All women were participants in the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Of the more than 27,000 participants, 1,071 were pregnant at the time of the survey.

The results suggest that many women perceived e-cigarettes as a safe alternative to traditional cigarettes. Additionally, some women who smoked regular cigarettes switched to e-cigarettes in pregnancy as a means to quit smoking.

No cigarette can be defined as the safest

E-cigarettes are probably just as risky as conventional cigarettes. Nicotine, the addictive component in cigarettes, is also present in e-cigarettes, and it is nicotine that is associated with the greatest harmful effects on pregnancy. The amount of nicotine consumed in cigarette smoke is similar to the amount of nicotine consumed with e-cigarettes.

Nicotine passes through the placenta causing fetal complications (read the documentation on the effects of nicotine in pregnancy ).

Risks include potential lung and neurological damage to a developing fetus, an increased risk of low birth weight   , and an increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) .

Electronic cigarettes without nicotine

There are also nicotine-free e-cigarettes on the market. Once they were sold in pharmacies, now the widespread sale does not allow to trace with certainty neither the origin nor the content. 

Everything they contain is synthetic.

They work by inhaling through a mouthpiece. The airflow activates a sensor that turns on a small battery-operated stove. The heater vaporizes liquid nicotine in a small cartridge. Here you can opt for a nicotine-free cartridge.

The heater also vaporizes propylene glycol  in the cartridge. Propylene glycol is the substance that determines the smoke from discos or theaters.

When the user exhales, there is a cloud of propylene glycol vapor making up the visible smoke.

Propylene glycol is generally considered safe, but some studies indicate that prolonged inhalation can cause airway irritation. Heating propylene glycol and glycerin can produce formaldehyde and acetaldehyde , two potentially carcinogenic chemicals.

In addition to propylene glycol, electronic cigarettes also contain  aromatic compounds (a recent study identified as many as 7000 ) of not always specified origin. They should be analyzed one by one to determine their potential health risks.

Therefore given the uncertainty on the components of the inhaled vapors, the difficult production traceability and the lack of medium and long-term studies on the effects on health, its use is strongly discouraged during pregnancy and breastfeeding as everything that is inhaled can get to your baby through the placenta, or pass into milk if you are breastfeeding.