The effect of long term nicotine exposure on nicotine addiction and fetal growth [Uzun süreli nikotine maruziyetin nikotin baǧi{dotless}mli{dotless}li{dotless}ǧi{dotless}na ve fetüsün büyümesine etkisi]

Objective: to investigate the effect of nicotine exposure starting before coitus and continuing during pregnancy and lactation period on delivery rate,fetal growth and nicotine addiction in rats. material and methods: ten female swiss albino rats were divided into 2 groups as the nicotine group (ng) (n=5),and the control group (n=5),conceived by adding 2 male rats to each group. while the control group was given only normal drinking water,0.4 mg/kg body weight (bw)/day nicotine was given to the ng in drinking water. after delivery,the bws of pups were recorded weekly for 6 weeks and their drinking water preferences were assessed. meanwhile,pups of the ng continued to receive 0.4 mg/kg/day nicotine for 12 months while the controls continued with normal drinking water. results: at the end of the 6th week,it was determined that 30 (69%) rats out of 43 in the ng and only 7 rats (20%) out of 35 in the control group preferred the nicotine added drinking water (p<0.05). no significant difference was observed between control and ngs in postnatal birth weights and bws recorded for 6 weeks. on the contrary,a significant decrease (p< 0.05) was observed in the bws of ng at the end of 12 months nicotine exposure. conclusion: use of maternal nicotine in pregnancy and lactation periods,even at a low dose,may be effective in nicotine addiction development although it may not affect delivery rate,and bws of pups after delivery and during six weeks follow up in the lactation period. ©copyright 2012 by the turkish-german gynecological education and research foundation.