Smoking . . . is my baby's life worth it?

When a pregnant woman smokes, she is in grave danger of causing serious physical and/or mental damage to her unborn child.  When a pregnant woman smokes, so does her unborn child. It is logical to assume, therefore, that the earlier in the pregnancy a woman quits smoking , the better are the baby's chances of being born healthy.

Nicotine, the stimulant and addictive drug contained in tobacco, causes the blood vessels to narrow, thereby reducing the blood flow and resulting in less oxygen and fewer nutrients reaching the baby. Carbon monoxide, a toxic gas contained in tobacco smoke, also lowers oxygen levels so less oxygen reaches the baby,

Miscarriages occur 30% to 70% more often among smokers than nonsmokers depending in part on the number of cigarettes smoked daily. One study reported that smoking a pack-a-day doubled the risk of miscarriage. Smoking also increases the rate of stillbirths.

Fetal lungs are exposed to the chemical compounds in tobacco when a pregnant woman smokes. When the mother inhales cigarette smoke, the chest muscles of the fetus are slowed.

Premature birth often results in the baby experiencing difficulties in breathing, digesting food, and staying warm.  The respiratory tract, nervous system, muscles, and other organs may be underdeveloped.  The baby will be underweight and may die.

Vaginal bleeding, more likely to occur during pregnancy if the mother smokes, often leads to premature birth and may endanger both the mother's and baby's life.

Low birth weight is the most frequent problem and a leading cause of infant death. The first is due to the lack of sufficient oxygen and nutrients for the fetus. One large survey studying the link between smoking and low birth rate found that babies of women who smoked more than a pack-a-day during the pregnancy were on the average 11.7 ounces lighter than the babies of women who did not smoke.

Other studies have reported that mothers who smoke lightly to moderately were 50% more likely to have babies weighing less than 5 pounds while those who smoke heavily were twice as likely to have such small babies. The lower the baby's weight at birth, the lower the chances of survival. The average weight of a newborn is between 7 and 9 pounds. Babies weighing less than 5.8 pounds are at significant risk.  Research has also concluded that children of smokers have smaller heads and require more care after birth than those of nonsmokers.

Some studies indicate children of smoking mothers may have a higher frequency of heart malformations and other congenital defects.  SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), or crib death occurs more often in babies of mothers who smoked during pregnancy.  Nicotine is passed from a nursing mother to her baby through breast milk.

Since babies breathe more rapidly, they inhale more which can result in their having two or three times the pollution in relation to their total body weight than adults.  The lungs are not fully developed until the age of 10; their development may be hindered with constant exposure to cigarette smoke.

Behavioral problems such as hyperactivity are more likely to occur in children of smoking mothers.

There is evidence that babies of mothers who smoked during the pregnancy are as much as 50% more likely to suffer childhood cancers such as leukemia than children of nonsmoking mothers.

Children of smoking mothers are more likely to suffer illnesses and infections of the ears, nose, throat, and lungs throughout childhood.  They particularly tend to suffer from pneumonia and brponchitis.

Studies conduct on the long-term effects of children whose mothers smoked during the pregnancy and continued to expose their children to secondhand smoke after birth revealed these findings.  Preschoolers whose mothers smoked 10 cigarettes or more per day have significant lower IQs than children of nonsmokers.  Children of smoking mothers lose more than four IQ points - a serious loss. Children in the age range of six to nine years old fared worst in speech and language development, intelligence, motor skills, visual/spatial abilities, academic achievement, and behavioral problems.

Children whose mothers have been exposed to cigarette smoke from the other parent or in the workplace scored slightly lower on all tests but not as low as those children whose mothers smoked.  Children whose mothers did not smoke and were not exposed to secondhand smoke scored the highest.

While not yet proven, a relationship between a woman's smoking and her infertility has long been suspected, and several studies are suggesting a causal relationship.

It is harder to stop than to start.  If you haven't started smoking, congratulate yourself and choose to remain free of this unhealthy habit - both for your own sake and the health of your unborn child.  If you have the smoking habit, why not determine to join the millions who have quit?  If you can't do it for yourself, do it for your unborn baby!  You can make a difference in your baby's life and future.