Final answer:
Smoking tobacco during pregnancy is detrimental to prenatal development by increasing risks for premature birth, causing low birth weight, and increasing the likelihood of birth defects due to the introduction of harmful substances like nicotine and carbon monoxide into the developing fetus.
Step-by-step explanation:
The primary way that smoking tobacco affects prenatal development is by 4) All of the above: Increasing the risk of premature birth, causing low birth weight, and increasing the risk of birth defects.
Smoking during pregnancy introduces various harmful substances into the bloodstream, which can reach the developing fetus. These substances include nicotine, carbon monoxide, and other toxic compounds found in tobacco smoke. Nicotine is a teratogen, which means it can disturb the development of an embryo or fetus leading to the risk of birth defects. Furthermore, carbon monoxide competes with oxygen for binding sites on hemoglobin, decreasing the availability of oxygen to the fetus.
This can result in restrictive fetal growth, or low birth weight, and can interfere with normal development. Continual exposure to these toxic substances from smoking has been linked to an increased likelihood of premature birth, which can further complicate infant health outcomes. Additionally, smoking can lead to complications such as higher incidences of spontaneous abortion, perinatal morbidity and mortality, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).