Smoking while Pregnant can have Potentially Lethal Effects on Your Child

Smoking during pregnancy puts your baby at great risk for many health problems. The problems don't stop with pregnancy they can continue after childbirth as well. Many women will not heed our advice to quit immediately upon discovering they are pregnant which is unfortunate. However quitting is the best option for you and your baby. You will have an easier time of it if you get the right amount of support when quitting. Smoking during pregnancy poses some very real risks and we will talk about those risks here.

The hundreds of chemicals added to cigarettes attack all the system of the mother and unborn child. The baby will have a greater tendency to get sick more often because their immune system is compromised. The respiratory system also suffers from several complications due to smoking during pregnancy. Smoking during pregnancy can also lead to your child having problems with normal growth. Low birth weight is a common problem caused by smoking during pregnancy which can cause other issues too. This complication is noted in more than 20 percent of all births nationwide. Smoking during pregnancy is also known to cause preterm labor in some women. One study shows a 14% likelihood of preterm delivery caused by smoking. 10 percent of all infant mortality cases including SIDS can be attributed to smoking during pregnancy. According to the American Lung Association this is a true statistic.

Smoking during pregnancy can have a host of possibilities, all of them negative. Cigarette smoking is the main culprit and it can be broken down further into more specific causes.

The baby will suffer from less blood flow because nicotine constricts the blood flow. When the blood vessels are constricted, there is less oxygen available in the blood due to reduced blood flow. Of course the heart rate increases to compensate. The baby's brain and cardiovascular system will be compromised.

This should be cause for concern to a woman who smokes during pregnancy.

We don't completely understand the highly negative effects on a baby if the mother smokes. We've been talking about the consequences for an unborn baby but this issues don't go away after birth. The consequences associated with smoking while pregnant can affect the child well into adulthood. Many of the dire consequences of smoking while pregnant have lifelong effects. Quitting smoking is vital to the baby and the mother for this reason.