A novel study has highlighted how daily vitamin C supplementation can enhance placental blood flow in expecting mothers who smoke.
The trial, published in Scientific Reports, found that vitamin C can offset the decrease of placental blood flow seen in smokers — meaning the vitamin can support the health of both mother and child, while reducing prenatal smoking-related damage.
Previous studies by the Oregon Health & Science University has shown that vitamin C supplementation can support maternal and infant health, with this study further validating their findings.
The dangers of smoking during pregnancy
The ill effects of smoking on the body have long been discussed, and healthcare practitioners have been strongly recommending that people kick the habit if possible.
The same goes for mothers-to-be, as the baby is directly exposed to the nicotine found in cigarette smoke via the placenta.
Exposure to nicotine has been proven to harm a baby's development in non-human primate models — with crucial organs such as the lungs, brain and kidneys all being impacted.
This can often lead to lung-related issues in these children later in life, highlighting the need for ways to mitigate this effect in mothers unable to quit.
To find out if vitamin C could benefit a child prenatally, researchers randomised two groups of pregnant women to receive either a low dose of vitamin C (60mg) or a high dose of 560mg.
By utilising a Doppler ultrasound, the team measured the blood flow inside the umbilical cord.
Vitamin C boosts blood flow significantly
Notably, when assessing the blood flow in the placenta, researchers found that vitamin C can improve blood flow in pregnant smokers — bringing it closer to the levels seen in non-smokers.
Looking at the placenta right after the child's birth, vitamin C was also seen to support the development of blood vessels and overall placental function.
These results highlight the potential of vitamin C supplementation in supporting both maternal and infant health when the mother is unable to quit smoking — potentially reducing the burden of long-term health problems caused by prenatal smoke exposure for a child.
“It is clear that placental development is abnormal in women who smoke,” said Dr Eliot Spindel, the corresponding author on this study.
“We had data from our studies with nonhuman primates suggesting that vitamin C could offset some of those negative effects, which then led us to study this in humans. In this human clinical trial, it is important to note that some, but not all, abnormalities were prevented by vitamin C intake.”
The long-term benefits of prenatal vitamin C supplementation
Interestingly, high vitamin C intake during pregnancy was also linked to a prolonged improvement in lung function for children.
“We’ve been able to demonstrate in our other studies that the offspring of the women who received the vitamin C had significantly improved pulmonary function tests at ages 3 months and 12 months,” stated Cindy McEvoy, professor of pediatrics in the OHSU School of Medicine.
“We were able to continue to follow these children through age 5, and they still had improved lung function.”
Although vitamin C intake may contribute to better respiratory outcomes, smoking during pregnancy is also linked to premature birth, brain development impediments and a reduction in overall growth — which vitamin C may not mitigate.