Smoking during pregnancy presents health risks for both themother and her child. In this study we followed changes in theproduction of steroid hormones in pregnant smokers. We focusedon changes in steroidogenesis in the blood of mothers in their37th week of pregnancy and in mixed cord blood fromtheir newborns. The study included 88 healthy womenwith physiological pregnancies (17 active smokers and 71 nonsmokers).We separately analyzed hormonal changes associatedwith smoking according to the sex of newborns. In women withmale fetuses, we found higher levels of serum cortisone,dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), 7α-OH-DHEA, 17-OHpregnenolone, testosterone, and androstenedione in smokers atthe 37th week compared to non-smokers. In women with femalefetuses, we found lower serum levels of 7β-OH-DHEA and higherandrostenedione in smokers at the 37th week. We foundsignificantly higher levels of testosterone in newborn males ofsmokers and higher levels of 7α-OH-DHEA in female newborns ofsmokers. Smoking during pregnancy induces changes in theproduction of steroids in both the mother and her child. Thesechanges are different for different fetal sexes, with morepronounced changes in mothers carrying male newborns as wellas in the newborn males themselves.
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