Background: According to the report of the World Health Organization (WHO), the prevalence of smoking among women in developed countries is relatively higher than in developing countries.
Smoking during pregnancy can cause serious problems for the health of the mother and fetus. This issue has negative effects on fertility, risk of miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy and more. Also, studies show that ۴۱% of spontaneous abortions are related to pregnant women who smoke. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of smoking on abortion in pregnant mothers and to evaluate smoking cessation interventions to reduce these risks and improve maternal and fetal health. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted independently by two researchers based on the PICO criteria and aligned with the research objective and based on the PRISMA checklist. Comprehensive search of articles from ۲۰۱۹ to ۲۰۲۴ in PubMed, SCOPUS, CINAHL, Medline, Web of Science, SID and Magiran databases as well as Google Scholar search engine using Boolean operators and MESH keywords "Smoking", "Abortion" and "Pregnancy" were performed. Finally, after checking the entry and exit criteria and critically evaluating the quality of the selected articles, ۹ articles were included in the study out of a total of ۶۷۸ articles in the initial search. Results: The results of studies show that the use of tobacco and snuff is associated with an increased risk of spontaneous abortion.
Smoking by the pregnant mother, regardless of the week of pregnancy, by affecting the potent reproduction of osteotrophoblasts and cell differentiation, causes the fetus to experience the following: Poor growth of the embryo, difficulty in implantation of the egg, then spontaneous abortion, premature rupture of the amniotic sac and premature birth, separation of the placenta due to the high concentrations of carbon monoxide in the cigarette, stillbirth or delay in fetal lung development. Conclusion:
Smoking rates were highest among those who had induced abortions, followed by those who had spontaneous abortions, and lowest among those who delivered. The study confirmed the well-known negative effects of smoking on gestational length and birthweight.
Smoking by pregnant mothers, in addition to harming the fetus, also has negative effects on the health of the mothers themselves, such as: decreased milk production, lack of interest in breastfeeding, and decreased fertility for future pregnancies.
