Live Life Team
Every woman wants to be sure her unborn child enters the world healthy. Many choose to drop bad habits. They do so by eating more healthy foods and eliminating things like smoking and alcohol. Unfortunately some mothers-to-be seem to hang onto one of the most troublesome habits. This is done even at the risk of causing several problems for themselves and the babies they are carrying.
Smoking during pregnancy has been associated with a number of complications. The U.S. Public Health Service reports that the incidence of stillbirths would decrease by more than 10 percent and newborn deaths would drop by 5 percent if pregnant women would kick the habit.
Cigarette smoke is known to have over 2,500 chemicals, and some of the effects on unborn babies are unknown. The known risks, however, are horrific. An unborn child of a smoking mother is at risk for congenital heart defects, pre-term delivery (generally before the 37th week of gestation), low birth weight (under 5.5 pounds), disabilities such as learning disorders and mental retardation and even death.
The risk of pregnancy complications doubles with smoking, and can be life-threatening to both mother and baby. Placenta previa and placenta abruptia can result in heavy blood loss and death for mother, baby or both.
Babies born to smoking mothers also seem to suffer from withdrawal symptoms much like those of babies born with drug addictions. Symptoms can range from tremors to incessant crying. These children are three times more likely to become innocent victims of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome than those whose mothers do not smoke.
To reverse the risk of delivering a low birth weight baby, the mother must quit smoking before the end of the 6th month or 24th week of pregnancy. The odds of birth defect or worse will then be no greater than those of a non-smoking mother.
Unborn babies are dependent on the mothers carrying them to provide the best care possible for them. They have no voice, except for the support of those who try to educate all women about the risks of smoking while pregnant.
