Health
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What Happens When A Pregnant Woman Smokes? (2 of 3)

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Effects On the Unborn Child

Smoking during pregnancy can have some dire effects on your baby’s development and overall health. It essentially exposes them to the toxic chemicals in cigarettes, and lowers the amount of oxygen to the baby. Other effects include:

  • decreased growth and development
  • higher risk of birth defects, including cleft palate or lip
  • each cigarette decreases the baby’s ability to move for at least an hour
  • reduces oxygen levels and nutrient supply
  • directly damages the brain and lungs of the baby
  • reduces function and development of the placenta

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Breastfeeding While Smoking

Even after the birth of your child, smoking can still have a negative impact on them — especially if the mother is breastfeeding. While breastfeeding, everything put into the mother’s body will impact the breast milk. Some negative outcomes of smoking while breastfeeding include:

  • nicotine and other chemicals in cigarettes can pass directly from the mother to the baby through breastmilk
  • smoking will decrease the quality and amount of break milk the body can produce
  • smoking during breastfeeding can give your newborn health problems like colic or poor sleeping habits

Studies show that women who smoke are more than likely to stop breastfeeding earlier than those who do not smoke.

There are some ways to lessen the effects of smoking while breastfeeding for those who may find it difficult to stop. Here are some tips:

  • The easiest thing to do is to stop smoking around the baby at all. Even if it is difficult to stop smoking altogether, try to go outdoors or away from the baby while smoking.
  • Try to smoke after breastfeeding. The best thing to do is to avoid smoking before breastfeeding or during feeds. This will give your body the best possible chance to clear out nicotine from the last time you smoked, so that your breastmilk will be less contaminated. This is applicable for other nicotine products, including nicotine gums, lozenges, or mouth sprays used to quit smoking.
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