Smoking While Pregnant
Everyone knows that smoking is harmful for your health. Smoking increases the risk of developing lung cancer, emphysema and cardiac diseases, amongst other diseases. During pregnancy, smoking can also put your baby at risk.
The carbon monoxide that is in cigarette smoke diminishes the amount of oxygen your baby is getting, and the nicotine restricts the blood flow to the fetus. In consequence, women that smoke are at higher risk of giving birth to babies with low birth weight, which can generate medical problems. In fact, it has been calculated that the babies of smokers weigh around half a pound less then the average of the women that do not smoke. The exact difference of the birth weight depends on how much the mother smokes.
Besides causing low birth weight, smoking during pregnancy is also associated with the risk of premature delivery, abortion, placenta previa, abruption of the placenta, premature rupture of the amniotic membranes in even sudden death syndrome after the baby is born.
To quick smoking is something that can be extremely difficult for some people. Keep in mind however, that even just decreasing the amount of cigarettes you smoke during the day can be beneficial both for the baby and you.
If you do stop smoking during your pregnancy, congratulate yourself and rest assured that your baby will be born with a normal weight.
There are women that choose to wear nicotine patches, gum or inhalers in order to get rid of their smoking habit. The nicotine in these products enters the blood stream and can get to the fetus, but at least the carbon monoxide and other toxins that are found in a cigarette are eliminated. The total amount of nicotine that is absorbed from using gum or inhalers can be less than the nicotine in a patch, which is used without interruption. More recent studies on how to get women that are pregnant to stop smoking have not been extensively studied in pregnant women.
Feeding Babies and Infants General feeding suggestions to increase your child's intelligence How to Feed a Baby The Education of the Parents at Meals Times The Difficult Task of Eating, Babies First Meals General Feeding Suggestions Soups and Purees for Children Fruit Juice and Puree Recipes Rice Recipes for Children Pastas Recipes for Children Potatoes Recipes for Children Fish Recipes for Children Chicken Recipes for Children Eggs for Children Recipes Meats for Children Recipes Drinks for Children Recipes Premature Babies *** The Ages of a Baby *** Aphrodisiac Recipes Cooking All You Need To Know About Pregnancy *** How to Stimulate your Child's Intelligence Pregnancy Stages I Think I Am Going Into Labor! Getting Ready To Become Pregnant Diet and Exercise during Pregnancy Illegal Drugs during Pregnancy Alcohol during Pregnancy Medication While Pregnant Smoking While Pregnant Some Common Questions About Alcohol Intake during Pregnancy Using Equipment to Know When You Are Ovulating Medical Histories General Check Up before Getting Pregnant The Importance of Folic Acid while Pregnant Frequent Questions during Pregnancy Lifestyle Changes during Pregnancy Pregnancy with Special Conditions, Does Age Matter in Pregnancy?