Smoking and Pregnancy

The risks involved with smoking during pregnancy:
Although less women are smoking during their pregnancy now than ever before, the habit still persists among many women. In addition, even if a pregnant woman does not smoke, she may be exposed to secondhand smoke in the household, workplace, or in social settings.

Smoke can be damaging to a fetus in several ways, and may cause:

• low birthweight (a major cause of newborn death)

• preterm birth (a major cause of newborn death)

• stillbirths

Subsequently, babies born to smokers may also have the following problems:

• poor lung development

• asthma and respiratory infections

• increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)

• physical growth deficiency

• intellectual development deficiency

• behavioral problems

The mother, too, may experience problems during her pregnancy as a result of smoking, including:

• placental complications

• preterm labor

• infections in the uterus

Researchers believe the effects of carbon monoxide (which reduces oxygen in the blood) and nicotine (which stimulates certain hormones) causes many of these adverse effects.

However, according to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), if a woman quits smoking or decreases the number of cigarettes she smokes during her pregnancy, she increases her chance of delivering a healthy baby.

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