How bad it is to smoke while your pregnant?

Question

I just found out i'm pregnant and i'm trying to quit.. i quit with my first and then started back up but it seems harder this time.. how bad is it for the baby?

Answer 1

Smoking during pregnancy puts both mother's and baby's life at risk. Currently, about 13 percent of pregnant women in the U.S. smoke during pregnancy. If all pregnant women stopped smoking, there would be an estimated 10 percent reduction in infant deaths in this country, according to the U.S. Public Health Service. Cigarette smoke contains more than 2,500 chemicals, with nicotine, tar, and carbon monoxide thought to be the most dangerous to the fetus.
The sooner a mother quits smoking, the better it will be for both her and her baby. If you currently smoke, it's not to late to do something about it. Quitting during the first trimester can greatly reduce the risk of having a baby with low birth weight — almost to that of a woman who doesn't smoke. The fewer cigarettes a woman smokes, the less likely her baby will be born with smoking-related problems.

Tell your doctor if you need help quitting. If you are a heavy smoker and have not been able to quit or cut down, you may be able to use a nicotine patch to help you quit while you are still pregnant. There are risks to using the patch during pregnancy, but the risk of heavy smoking may be greater.

Even if you don't smoke, be aware that your baby can be harmed by people smoking around you. Pregnant women regularly exposed to other people's smoke during pregnancy may also be at increased risk of many of the same fetal development problems.

Smoking During Pregnancy: Complications
Smoking has been associated with a number of pregnancy complications. One is an increased risk of ectopic pregnancy. In an ectopic pregnancy, the embryo becomes implanted in a fallopian tube or other abnormal site instead of the uterus. With the rarest of exceptions, these pregnancies do not result in the birth of a baby, and must be removed surgically or with drug treatment to protect a woman's life.

Cigarette smoking also appears to double a woman's risk of developing placental complications (which occur in about 1 percent of pregnancies). These include placenta previa, a condition in which the placenta is attached too low in the uterus and covers part or all of the cervix; and placental abruption, in which the placenta separates from the uterine wall before delivery. Both can result in a delivery that jeopardizes the life of mother and baby.

Smoking during pregnancy also increases the risk of stillbirth, miscarriage, and severe vaginal bleeding.

Smoking During Pregnancy: Risks to Your Baby
Smoking during pregnancy, which can seriously slow fetal growth, nearly doubles a woman's risk of having a baby with low birth weight. In 1998, 12 percent of babies born to smokers in the U.S. were of low birth weight, compared to 7.2 percent of babies of nonsmokersStudies by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) also suggest that smoking increases the risk of preterm delivery (before 37 weeks of gestation) by about 30 percent. It also increases the likelihood of certain birth defects, including a cleft lip and/or cleft palate (an opening in the roof of the mouth or the soft tissue in the back of the mouth).

Babies who weigh less than 5 1/2 pounds at birth face an increased risk of serious health problems during the newborn period, chronic disabilities (such as cerebral palsy, mental retardation, and learning problems), and even death.

Babies of mothers who smoke are twice as likely to die from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) as babies of nonsmokers. Children who are exposed to cigarette smoke before birth also may be at increased risk of lasting problems, including asthma, learning disabilities, and behavioral problems.

Smoking During Pregnancy: After Baby Is Born
It's also important to stay smoke-free after you bring your baby home. Both mother and father should refrain from smoking in the house, and insist that visitors to do the same.

Babies who are exposed to cigarette smoke after birth face an increased risk of SIDS. They also suffer from more respiratory illnesses, ear infections, and tonsillitis than other babies. According to the AAP, an estimated 1.67 million physician visits each year in the United States are to treat coughing due to involuntary smoking. Infants whose mothers smoke are 38 percent more likely to be hospitalized for pneumonia during their first year of life than babies of nonsmoking mothers.

Smoking in the home during the first few years of a child's life also increases his risk of developing asthma. Continual smoking can lead to more frequent and severe asthma attacks in children who already have the disease.

Nursing mothers who smoke more than 20 cigarettes a day will likely pass along harmful chemicals from cigarettes to their babies in breast milk. Heavy smoking can reduce a mother's milk supply, and on rare occasions has caused symptoms in the breastfeeding baby such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea.

Sources: March of Dimes; American Academy of Pediatrics; American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; U.S. Public Health Service; La Leche League

The information on this Web site is designed for educational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for informed medical advice or care. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat any health problems or illnesses without consulting your pediatrician or family doctor. Please consult a doctor with any questions or concerns you might have regarding your or your child's condition.

Hope this helps

Answer 2

mothers that smoke during pregnancy tend to give birth to babies with lower birth weight and a higher rate of birth defects. Lower birth weights correlate directly with their chances of survival after birth. You're playing roulette with your baby's health. I know it's hard, but please try your damnedest to quit. If you can't quit, do your very best to cut way, way back on how much you smoke.

Every time you want to light up, take a look at the cigarette, and ask yourself out loud, "Do I want a baby with Down's Syndrome, or chronic asthma, or with a birth defect?" Then do what you know is right.

Answer 3

What a lucky woman you are to have a baby! You are the vessel of life....You are doing the work of angels on this earth. You are the temple. What a chance of lifetime, two of them at once! Your empowered- YOUR MOM!

Would you let your child abuse him/herself?

Now ask your question again? Did you answer it yourself?

Best wishes, selfless acts are rewarded in many ways not known to you. Good luck nicotine is a tough drug to put down, get your doctors help. I will keep you in my thoughts and hope that you make all the right choices to be the best MOM ever!

Answer 4

Its can be harmful dont get me wrong.........but i smoked al through my pregnancy and that whole low birth weight and such simply nonsence in my case i gave birth to a healthy baby girl nearly 9 lbs..but good luck w/ the quitting it's 13 years later and I am still trying to quit!

Answer 5

Of course it is not good for you or your baby to smoke. You should cut back a little bit each day and eventually quit. 10 cigs for 3 days then 8 cigs for 3 days then 6 cigs for three days ect. Then it will not be such a shock.

Answer 6

Please dont smoke while ypur pregnant .Smoking can give the baby breathing problems when born. Smoking while pregnant can stop the baby from growing and alot of more things be smart dont smoke do it for the babby you want the baby to be healthy.

Answer 7

I'm not a doctor, but i do know a little bit.

When you smoke, the oxygen in your blood gets replaced with some other chemical, i'm not sure which one though.

Because there is less oxygen in your blood, there will also be less oxygen getting to your baby.

I'm not sure exactly what that will do to your baby, but i'm pretty sure it is not very healthy.

Hope this helps,
Mikey

Answer 8

oh... my opinion i think that smoking isn't bad, think about the other stuff that goin around there cars, burning wood and anything thing else that in the air can be bad for the baby and here something you can do when it raining step outside or after it rain breath in the fresh air and do not please use hair dye while you are pregant becasue it can be harm for the baby

Answer 9

I guess it's bad in some cases but every woman I know who smokes did so throughout their pregnancies and their babies were just fine!

Answer 10

It's HORIBBLE for the baby! QUIT NOW! They breath what you breathe, so you are putting all that poison you are inhaling into the baby! That is just mean! QUIT! Have you seen pictures of babies that were born to asmoking mother? Not pretty!

Answer 11

That is a really dumb question... That is one of the worst things that you can be doing to your baby. Depending on how far along you are you could be damaging his/her lung development... You really need to stop. It can cause brain damage... even worse... Think about your baby's health...