The hidden dangers to your unborn child is you smoke during pregnancy.

If you are smoking while you are pregnant you could be putting your baby at risk. The problems don't stop with pregnancy they can continue after childbirth as well. It's unfortunate to note that many women won't quite as soon as they discover pregnancy. But you and your baby will both benefit tremendously if you can manage to quit at any time while you are pregnant. Get as much support as you can to help you stop smoking. Smoking during pregnancy poses some very real risks and we will talk about those risks here.

The nicotine, tar and carbon monoxide you inhale while smoking are passed on to your baby. Your baby can then develop a full range of lung complications because of the second hand smoke you pass on to your baby. There are a multitude of complications that can result from lung damage. You see, the chemicals in the baby's blood, from the cigarettes, helps to displace the oxygen plus it can bind the oxygen in other reactions. In order for us to live we have to have oxygen and babies need it to develop correctly too, Your child can have seriously compromised lung function if you smoke during pregnancy. By smoking while pregnant, you place your child at a greater risk for lung issues such as asthma and a greater tendency for pneumonia. These children are also at a greater risk for bronchitis and other chronic respiratory symptoms. These problems also have an effect on your child's immune system. So in addition to what was just mentioned, it is known that there is a general tendency toward susceptibility toward infections.

All parents want their children to do well in life and excel, and that includes excelling in academic areas, too. One of the consequences of smoking before the baby is born has to do with negative effects on the baby's brain. This is because smoking causes the baby to receive insufficient amounts of oxygen from the mother. Determining the exact effect this will have later in your child's life is difficult. A wide range of learning problems in children have been linked to smoking during pregnancy.

If you quit smoking you eliminate the risk of your child suffering from the many problems associated with smoking during pregnancy. In this, things are black and white. Keep researching and learning about what could happen to your child if you need more motivation to quit. The most serious risks include still births and a higher risk of SIDS. Smoking during pregnancy is extremely harmful for your baby and for you, as anyone can see.