Nicotine (Cigarettes, Chew, Cigars) is a strongly addictive drug that acts on the brain and peripheral circulatory system and can have profound effects on your pregnancy and your child’s long term health.

 

 

 

 

Q: What effects does smoking tobacco while pregnant have on the infant?

A: Tobacco smoke and nicotine, a chemical in tobacco smoke, are developmental toxins that can be harmful to unborn children. Long term effects of Nicotine include low birth weight, malformation of limbs and brain due to decreased blood supply, and can lead to birth complications such as premature labor. Other problems include miscarriages, still births, and sudden infant death syndrome (crib death), a condition in which apparently healthy babies die suddenly while sleeping.

Q: What problems occur during childhood as a result of smoking tobacco while pregnant?

A: Problems common to children with mothers who smoked or used nicotine during pregnancy are asthma and hyperactivity. In addition, the children may have learning difficulties and behavioral problems.

Q: What kind of brain damage is due to Prenatal Stroke Effects during pregnancy?

A: All forms of smoking during pregnancy cause immediate lowering of oxygen levels in the blood in both the mother and fetus and may trigger stroke, heart attack and infant distress.

 

 

Q: What is the mechanism in which smoke reaches the baby?

A: Smokers take in poisons such as nicotine and carbon monoxide (the same gas that comes out of a car’s exhaust pipe). These poisons get into the placenta, which is the tissue that connects the mother and the baby before it is born. These poisons keep the unborn baby from getting the food and oxygen needed to grow. As a result, babies of smokers are often smaller. Smaller babies are more likely to need special care and stay longer in the hospital. Some may die either at birth or within the first year.

Q: What is secondhand smoke?

A: Exposure to secondhand smoke, also called involuntary smoking, occurs when non-smokers breath in the cigarette smoke from others around them. Secondhand smoke is harmful to both pregnant women and infants. “New studies show that if a woman’s partner smokes near her during her pregnancy, there are added risks. She has a greater chance of having a baby that weighs too little and may have health problems.”

Q: What is the recommendation on smoking while breastfeeding?

A: According to the American Lung Association, women should not smoke while breastfeeding because, “Breast milk often contains whatever is in the woman’s body. If the woman smokes, the baby ingests the nicotine in her breast milk.”

Q: What if I need help quitting?

A. San Luis Obispo County Tobacco Control Program offers free smoking cessation classes for pregnant women and their partners.  For
more information see:

www.slocounty.ca.gov/health/prevention/dontsmoke.htm

Or check out any of the following resources:

CDC Tobacco Use & Pregnancy

American Pregnancy Association

Smokefree Women