10 Reasons To Quit Smoking In Pregnancy

Smoking has been popular regardless of the gender of the smoker. More and more women nowadays are smoking or are exposed to second hand smoking. Below are the 10 reasons why a pregnant woman should quit smoking during pregnancy but it is always ideal not to go back to the bad habit after bearing the child because smoking for lactating mothers can be dangerous to the breast feeding baby because of the numerous toxins cigarettes have. 

For women who are chronic smokers, it has been a difficult task to quit during pregnancy and it would take full discipline and will power to do it. Cold turkey during pregnancy? Pregnant women should not smoke because of the many health threats it brings to the pregnant mother and to the baby forming inside the womb.

The 10 Reasons Why Quitting is Important During Pregnancy

    • Toxins and Chemicals

    – It is already a fact that whatever you take in during pregnancy is what the baby takes in during gestation. The nutrients and blood supply is passed on from the mother to the baby through the umbilical cord. If you are eating a healthy diet, the baby surely does get the healthy nutrients from the mother’s blood supply. What about tobacco smoke? If the mother is smoking cigarettes during pregnancy, the baby surely gets the 200 plus chemicals and toxins that can be harmful to the baby.

  • Poor oxygenation to the mother and baby –These chemicals can lessen the amount of oxygen that the baby gets and smoking can damage the baby’s lungs. The body organs of the baby is formed during the first trimester of gestation. The lungs become stronger on the 6th month of gestation, just before considering it a term baby.
  • Low Birth Weight Baby – Most babies born to a mother who was smoking during pregnancy have low birth weights. A low birth weight is an indicative of the future health status of the child. Most low birth weight babies become sickly in their childhood or develop diseases as they grow.
  • Greater Risk for Respiratory Diseases  – If the baby’s lungs are damaged, most likely, the baby will have a weak lung when it goes out to the world. Babies subjected to smoking pregnant mothers are most likely to develop asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, and other chronic or infectious lung diseases.
  • Greater Risk for Birth Defects – Smoking pregnant mothers can predispose their daughters and sons to birth defects such as cleft palate or cleft lip. These can be unsightly and can affect the nutritional status of the baby, altering the normal mechanism for swallowing. Kids with cleft palate or cleft lip have disturbed speech. These cases can subject the child to lower self-esteem. A repair of the cleft palate or cleft lip may be necessary for aesthetic, speech, and nutritional purposes for the child.
  • Less Strength And Ability To Be More Active for the Mother – Poor oxygenation can bring about many signs and symptoms and may affect the baby itself. If the mother has poor oxygenation, the more that the baby is suffering this. The mother who has a big womb has difficulty carrying her body weight and the weight of the baby. The uterus can also push the baby to affect the breathing of the mother. What more if the mother is smoking? I bet she cannot complete a task without getting fatigued or stressed.
  • Miscarriages – Many miscarriages are correlated with mothers who smoke during pregnancy.
  • Ectopic Pregnancy, Early Rupture of Membranes, Placental defects – Ectopic pregnancy is a pregnancy that is outside the uterus. This is a fertilized ovum that has been implanted to the fallopian tube, abdominal tissue, ovary, etc. These may cause too much difficulty to the mother and to the growing fetus. Early rupture of membranes can bring about early time for the baby to be born and may lead to premature babies. Placental defects can cause the mother to have poor oxygenation and difficulty during labor and delivery because placental defects can block the passage of the baby from the uterus to the vaginal canal. It can also cause the cord to coil.
  • Pregnancy Induced Hypertension – Tobacco smoke has a constricting effect on the blood vessels. A constricted blood vessel causes the blood pressure to rise.
  • Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) – If the baby is born with a good APGAR Score, he or she may still have sudden death due to weak body and lungs. It is not a guarantee that the baby is born already. Some symptoms of respiratory distress that can be so sudden that even noticing the sign and symptoms of distress can be too late and may lead to death. SIDS accounts to many infant deaths around the world.

 

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