4.3.3 Risky behaviors and medical abortion
Women with planned pregnancies are reluctantly choosing abortion because
of concerns that smoking and alcohol consumption may have a negative
impact on the outcome of the pregnancy. Compared with never-smokers,
active smokers in their reproductive years had a corresponding increase
in the risk of spontaneous abortion, stillbirth and ectopic pregnancy by
16%, 44% and 43%, respectively[27]. A systematic review concluded
that smoking interventions significantly increased birth weight[28].
Previous MR studies have found a positive correlation between smoking
initiation and increased risk of pregnancy loss, but did not support any
association between moderate alcohol and pregnancy loss[29, 30]. The
present study found that smoking behavior motivated women to choose
medical abortion.
Alcohol is known to have a significant negative impact on human health.
Alcohol exposure is associated with an increased risk of congenital
problems, including Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and its most
severe form, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), which are long-lasting and
lifelong with no treatment or cure available[31]. Many pregnant
women choose abortion due to accidental exposure to alcohol before and
during pregnancy, but our MR analyses did not provide valid evidence for
this causal link.