What Happens to Your Baby If You Smoke While Pregnant?

Cigarette smoking is detrimental to the health of pregnant women and their unborn babies. It has been proven that some noxious chemicals, namely, nicotine, lead, arsenic, and carbon monoxide, are absorbed into the bloodstream while smoking. Breathing in these toxic fumes reduces the amount of oxygen and nutrients supplied to the growing fetus. Doctors even warn pregnant women to avoid passive smoking.

The Effects of Smoking while Pregnant

Both active and passive smoking during pregnancy is undesirable. Numerous issues like miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, i.e., pregnancy occurring outside the uterus, usually in the fallopian tube, abnormal bleeding during gestation period and the delivery, premature rupture of membranes, and even some serious problems with the placenta, including early detachment from the uterine wall and blocking the cervical opening or Placenta Praevia may torment expectant mothers. The toxicity of chemicals from cigarette smoke is such that, baby’s movements in the womb are found to be weaker for at least an hour after smoking each time.

Pregnant women who smoke frequently often go through the harrowing experience of stillbirth or loss of a baby after the 20th week of pregnancy or even during delivery, and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) or sudden and unexplained death of a baby soon after birth.

Expectant women who continue smoking jeopardise foetal development, thus delivering low birth weight babies even after a full-term pregnancy. These babies are more vulnerable to ear infections, bronchitis, pneumonia and other long-term health problems. Smoking is one of the reasons for premature delivery or birth before the 37th week, which in turn causes damage to the baby’s lungs and brain. Birth defects like cleft lip and cleft palate occur in babies born to smoking mothers.

How Smoking during Pregnancy affects a Child later in Life

Foetal development is stunted to a great degree in case a mother continues to smoke during pregnancy. Leading a healthy life in adulthood becomes a challenge for such people. Health impediments like decreased lung function leading to asthma, and bouts of cough and cold, various heart diseases as a consequence of low birth weight, type II diabetes and high blood pressure in adulthood. The choices that a mother makes while pregnant determine whether the newborn will be at risk of being obese and fight symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in his/her childhood.

Effects of Quitting Smoking during Pregnancy

It is prudent to quit smoking before you decide to get pregnant. However, it is never too late to stop smoking at any time during pregnancy. Doctors found that when pregnant women stop smoking, the developing baby receives much more oxygen, there is a boost in foetal development, and the chances of premature birth are reduced.

Motherhood starts much before the birth of a baby, it starts right after a baby is conceived. Nourishing the baby with love and patience comes naturally to mothers. Leading a smoke-free life is a gift passed on to the baby for a healthy and wholesome life.