SMOKING DURING PREGNANCY

It is no secret that smoking during pregnancy is very dangerous to the unborn fetus. Smoking poses a health risk to the mother as well. It is important to try and quit smoking before a person even becomes pregnant. If it is too late for that, then quitting smoking as soon as the pregnancy is confirmed is very important. Smoking during pregnancy significantly increases the chance a woman will suffer a miscarriage.

Smoking during pregnancy can cause a number of permanent birth defects. Some of the defects that can occur are congenital heart defects, higher chance of the child being born with a learning disorder and lung problems like asthma are very common. Smoking during pregnancy also raises the chances of a newborn dying from sudden infant death syndrome, also known as SIDS. A new study released has revealed that children whose mothers smoked during pregnancy, experience a greater risk of having psychotic symptoms in their teen years.

A woman who smokes during pregnancy is more likely to have a low birth weight baby or a premature baby. In either one of these situations the baby is more likely to have under developed lungs. Premature babies are not as healthy as a baby carried to full term. The cost of the medical expenses for a premature baby is staggering. The risk of having a stillborn baby is increased if a woman smokes during pregnancy. The risk of having placenta previa, ectopic pregnancy, or placental abruption is raised in women who continue to smoke while pregnant. Any one of these conditions can be very serious, and will most likely end in a miscarriage. An ectopic pregnancy that is not treated early enough can prevent any further pregnancies.

Trying to quit smoking is very difficult, but it can be done. If a woman is already pregnant, nicotine gums and patches are not a good idea. These methods to quit smoking still put harmful nicotine in the body system, resulting in the fetus getting the exposure to nicotine. Quitting cold turkey may be difficult for a pregnant woman and there has been several arguments against the cold turkey method. There are smokeless cigarettes that can help anybody, including pregnant women, to quit smoking. These will allow a person to continue the habit, without the harmful side effects.

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