Guest speaker Steven R. Myers presented the effects of tobacco smoking durnig pregnancy. There are many risk that come while smoking during pregnancy which include: miscarriages, stillborn babies, premature birth, low birth-weight babies, SIDS, and second hand smoke. During his presentation I found some interesting things out which included: during the first six to eight weeks of the pregnancy this is when the most harm can be done to the baby. In addition to this, the way they tested women smokers versus non-smokers during there pregnancy is using a biomarker which is defined as: anything that can be used in the body to follow it. With using biomarkers researchers are able to see the harms done to the baby while in the mother's womb.
One organic compound that was mentioned that is used in cigarettes was formaldehyde. Not only is this organic compound used in cigarettes but formaldehyde is also sold as a 37% aqueous solution known as formalin, which has been used as a disinfectant, antiseptic, and perservative for biological specimens. This compound is also known to be a combustion of coal and other fossil fuels which is partly responsible for the irration caused by smoggy air. The following picture below shows formaldehyde:
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