The Dangers of Smoking During Pregnancy – Why You Need to Quit
Although the dangers of smoking during pregnancy are well documented, many expectant mothers still light up. Smoking is a powerful addiction that is driven by physical dependence as well as behavioral routines. This combination makes it very difficult to kick the habit.
When a woman first finds out she’s pregnant, she will often make immediate changes to her lifestyle such as improving her diet and eliminating alcohol. However, the desire and need to smoke often over ride the knowledge of the dangers of smoking during pregnancy.
If you are pregnant and still smoking, you need to know that the effect that it has on your unborn baby puts his or her life at risk. With each puff of the cigarette, you are exposing your baby to tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide. This exposure not only puts your baby at risk during pregnancy, but can also put the baby at risk after birth.
When a woman first finds out she’s pregnant, she will often make immediate changes to her lifestyle such as improving her diet and eliminating alcohol. However, the desire and need to smoke often over ride the knowledge of the dangers of smoking during pregnancy.
If you are pregnant and still smoking, you need to know that the effect that it has on your unborn baby puts his or her life at risk. With each puff of the cigarette, you are exposing your baby to tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide. This exposure not only puts your baby at risk during pregnancy, but can also put the baby at risk after birth.
- Low birth weight is one of the common dangers of smoking during pregnancy. Although this might not seem as dangerous as it sounds on the surface, babies with low birth weight are at risk for vision problems, learning disabilities, chronic respiratory problems and cerebral palsy.
- Another one of the many dangers of smoking during pregnancy, improper lung development can cause sudden and acute respiratory distress. These babies often need to be supplemented with oxygen after birth and monitored closely during the first few months of life.
- Perhaps the most devastating of all of the dangers of smoking during pregnancy, sudden infant death syndrome or SIDS is a heartbreaking outcome to a long pregnancy and anticipated birth of a new baby. With months of preparation and excitement, imagine the heartbreak of losing your new baby suddenly and unexpectedly. The connection to SIDS is thought to stem from the cigarette smoke contributing to hypoxia and thermal stress on the baby’s breathing.
If you smoke and have found out you’re pregnant, you can minimize the dangers of smoking during pregnancy by quitting in the first trimester. Smoking cessation should be looked at from a two-pronged approach. Not only do you need to treat the addiction medically, but you also need help with behavior modification. Most people who fail to stop smoking only address one side of the equation.
With all that we know about the dangers of smoking during pregnancy, it’s vital that any expectant mother do whatever it takes to kick the habit for good. This is not only important during pregnancy but is also important after the baby is born to insure long term health for both mother and child.
