Smoking during Pregnancy and its Effects on the Baby

Smoking during Pregnancy and its Effects on the Baby

Cigarette smoking during pregnancy is not only poses health risks to the mother, but also presents serious problems for her unborn baby.

Smoking during pregnancy causes about 5-6% of prenatal deaths, 17-26% of low –birth-weight births, and 7-10% of preterm deliveries and it increases the risk of miscarriage and fetal growth retardation.

Dangerous effects of smoking during pregnancy

You may have a look into the effects of smoking during pregnancy. Nicotine and carbon monoxide are poisonous ingredients of cigarette that can cause a lot of harm inside the body.

Carbon Monoxide and Nicotine

Smoking leads to increase in the levels of carbon monoxide and nicotine in the mother’s bloodstream during pregnancy. Carbon monoxide and nicotine terrifying effects on the mother’s body, as the blood vessels are constricted and limited, showing an effect on the supply of oxygen and nutrients.

The growth of the baby is hampered as the baby is denied its full share of nutrients and oxygen. The whole situation is like to you are being hungry and being offered an insufficient amount of food with poisonous substances. When you smoke, this is what exactly your baby is going to experience.

Premature babies

One of the dangerous effects of smoking during pregnancy is that babies are likely to be born premature and is they are born in correct time the baby may be underweight and small. Such babies need special care under medical supervision, which extends their stay in hospital.

Other Dangerous Effects of Smoking during Pregnancy

Smoking during pregnancy leads to denial proper oxygen supply to baby, which in turn may lead to miscarriages or fetal brain damage. According to certain studies smoking during pregnancy may even lead to student infant death syndrome.

Another effect of smoking during pregnancy is found on the blood pressure of the developing baby. This adversely affects its development and the child’s learning ability, like attention deficit disorder retarded mental growth. When young the child may also develop respiratory problems like asthma.

Effects of smoking after pregnancy

Once your baby is born, still there is need to protect the child from smoking. Smoking leads to reduction in milk supply, and can hinder breastfeeding. Moreover, the baby gets a fair dose of nicotine through breast milk.

        This can cause diseases in the form of nausea, colic, diarrhea, etc. Second hand smoke is not good for the bay, since it affects the lungs through the nicotine it inhale. You would not like your baby to develop breathing disorders.

Weight and Size

On average, a pack-a-day habit during pregnancy will shave about a half-pound from a baby’s birth weight. Smoking two packs a day throughout your pregnancy could make your baby a full pound or more lighter. While some women may welcome the prospect of delivering a smaller baby, stunting a baby’s growth in the womb can have negative consequences that last a lifetime.

Body and Lungs

Undersize babies tend to have under developed bodies. Their lungs may not be ready to work on their own, which means they may spend their first days or weeks attached to a respirator. After they are breathing on their own, these babies may have continuing breathing problems- because of delayed lung development or other adverse effects of nicotine. Children whose mothers smoked during pregnancy are especially vulnerable to asthma, and have double or even triple the risk of sudden infant death syndrome.

 

Brain Function

Smoking during pregnancy can have life-long effects on your baby’s brain. Children of pregnant smokers are especially likely to have learning disorders, behavioral problems, and relatively low IQs. Recent animal studies suggest that nicotine in the womb can program a baby’s brain for a future addiction. By the time that baby becomes a teenager; just a few cigarettes could be enough to get him booked.