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Smoking and Pregnancy - How to Quit Smoking While Pregnant

Quit Smoking While Pregnant For a Healthy Baby

If you are trying to quit smoking while pregnant, your doctor has probably told you what the dangers and risks are to your unborn baby.  These risks should not be minimized and should be taken seriously. Pregnancy smoking statistics prove that smoking during pregnancy is extremely dangerous to your unborn child.

A couple of the biggest and best known risks to an unborn baby are low birth weight and the risk of sudden infant death syndrome after birth.  SIDS is a devastating and heartbreaking outcome to an exciting and joyous 9 month waiting period.  Most new parents are blindsided and left wondering what went wrong when an otherwise healthy baby is suddenly lost.  You can help prevent this outcome by quitting smoking as soon as possible. The ideal solution is to quit before you ever become pregnant. However, if you have found out your pregnant and you’re still smoking, you should work toward quitting immediately to minimize impact to your unborn baby.

When a woman is pregnant, her options for smoking cessation are somewhat limited as anything she ingests could potentially impact the baby in a negative way.  Because of this, she will have to largely rely upon will power to overcome the cravings that can become overwhelming.  To quit smoking while pregnant, you’re going to have to focus on the behavioral aspects of smoking and replace them with other activities that can occupy your mind while the cravings are at their peak. This could be a brisk walk, getting some housework done or exercising on a treadmill. Being physically active will not only help you overcome those cravings, but will help to maintain your weight and mental well being.

Once you quit smoking you will have more energy and will start feeling better and breathing easier.  Being able to breathe easier means more oxygen for you and your baby. Having more energy will help you to remain as active as possible throughout your pregnancy.  Unless your doctor has told you otherwise, being active during pregnancy is good for both you and your baby.  Provided he or she hasn’t given you any restrictions, you should be able to maintain a reasonable activity level throughout your pregnancy.

Although quitting smoking before becoming pregnant is ideal, the next best thing is to quit as soon as possible once the pregnancy test comes back positive.  The longer you smoke into the pregnancy, the greater risk you are posing to the baby and his or her proper growth.  If you quit smoking while pregnant, you are giving you and your baby the best possible start.

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