(BlackDoctor.org) — Smoking during your pregnancy can have lasting effects on your baby’s health and development. Cigarette smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals, such as rat poison, ammonia cleaning product, lighter fluid, nail polish remover, moth balls, and the addictive poison Nicotine – just to name a few. When you smoke during pregnancy, your baby does too. These dangerous chemicals become a source of oxygen and nutrients for your baby. Can you imaging adding a sprinkle of rat poison and then mixing in a little nail polish remover to your baby’s cereal? The dangers of smoking while pregnant are just that serious to the health of your baby.
Every cigarette you smoke increases the risks of your pregnancy. Complications to your baby may include stillbirth, premature delivery, and low birth weight. Undersized babies tend to have undersized bodies. Their lungs may not be ready to work on their own, causing them to begin their first few days or weeks of life on a respirator. Children whose mothers smoke during pregnancy are especially vulnerable to asthma, learning disorders, behavioral problems, and have double or even triple the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
Learning about the dangers of smoking during pregnancy is an important first step in making the decision to stop smoking. Smoking also harms a mother’s health, too. Smokers have an increased risk of lung and other cancers, heart disease, stroke and emphysema (a deadly lung condition).A mother’s health is just as important as the baby’s.
It’s also important to stay smoke – free after the baby is born. Babies exposed to second – hand smoke suffer from more lower – respiratory illnesses (bronchitis and pneumonia), from more ear infections than babies not exposed to second – hand smoke, and may also face an increased risk of asthma and SIDS.
Join the thousands of pregnant mothers quitting smoking today. If you or someone you know is interested in quitting and would like to learn about smoking cessation resources available in your local area please call 1-800-QUITNOW (1-800-784-8669). It’s free and tobacco specialists are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to provide you with the support and resources you need to finally kick the habit. Quitting for you and quitting for your baby is the biggest gift you can give your baby. The sooner you quit the better!
Resources:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). What Do We Know About Tobacco Use and Pregnancy. June 11, 2007.
Baby Center Medical Advisory Board, www.babycenter.com. How Smoking During Pregnancy Affects You and Your Baby. September 2006.
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