Smoking increases risk of ectopic pregnancy in women

In the past 20 years, the incidence of ectopic pregnancy in women around the world has increased by 2 to 3 times. In the past, it was believed that the main causes of ectopic pregnancy were pelvic inflammatory disease and sexually transmitted diseases. However, why is ectopic pregnancy still on the rise in areas where the incidence of pelvic inflammatory disease and sexually transmitted diseases has decreased?

According to research, one of the risk factors for ectopic pregnancy is cigarette smoke. Regardless of changes in sexual life history, pelvic infection history, birth control history and reproductive history, the occurrence of ectopic pregnancy is significantly related to the amount of smoke inhaled by pregnant women. The researchers divided the pregnant women into two groups. The incidence of ectopic pregnancy in the smoking group was 40.1%, while that in the non-smoking group was 29.7%, with a significant difference between the two groups.

A research team from the University of Washington in the United States conducted a case-control study on 274 patients with ectopic pregnancy and 727 pregnant women in the same period, and found that the risk of tubal pregnancy in women who smoke is 40% higher than that of non-smokers. Smoke can stimulate the walls of small blood vessels and make them thicker, thus changing the blood circulation in the pelvic cavity, causing a series of changes such as fertilized egg implantation mutation. In addition, some people believe that nicotine damages the micro-hair-like structure in the fallopian tube that delivers the fertilized egg to the uterus, hindering the normal delivery of the fertilized egg to the uterus. Therefore, expectant mothers who are planning to have children must quit smoking. Pregnant women should not only not smoke, but also avoid going to places with more smoke, so as to stay away from the trouble of diseases and make our babies healthier.