Mom’s Smoking during Pregnancy Ups Preemie’s SIDS Risk

Mom’s-to-be, you must have heard and seen your doctor making it crystal clear: do not drink when you are pregnant. Not even a sip. Then it should not sound out of the blue or shocking that the same goes for smoking too. Not even a puff to put off that constant nicotine craving.

A puff and a drag might give you that momentary relief, albeit by throwing your baby’s life in a curling smoke. Studies have shown how continuing your smoking habits during the pregnancy will have put your baby’s chances of survival next to zero. The very first argument against this vice is that it cuts all the necessary nutrients from reaching the womb. A scary but a highly possible reason to go into premature labor. This means that the baby is still underdeveloped, especially his or her lungs. But if you have been a smoker all throughout, your preterm baby’s chances of sudden death goes a notch higher than an infant whose mother was a non-smoker.

All prematurely born babies have underdeveloped lungs, which result in breathing troubles as compared to a full-term baby. However, it was observed that a preterm baby born to a mother who smoked regularly had a greater inability to cope when their oxygen levels dropped. The heart rate shot up considerably, and there were long pauses between breathing that some babies found difficult to recover from. Thus, they were at a greater risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

Apart from that, smoking also causes the passage of toxic elements such as nicotine and carbon monoxide to your unborn child. This can lead to other fatal possibilities such as still birth, low birth weight, respiratory problems, and cancer.

The same warnings go for second hand smoke as well.

Quit Smoking During Pregnancy

So what do you do if you are unable to quit. Trying a nicotine patch is definitely not an advisable solution. If you are having a hard time cutting down on your smoking, talk it out with your doctor. Look for alternative healthy options that will help you to get over the nicotine cravings.

Love and nurture your body with good and nutritious food. Most importantly, make sure that you have this habit under control even before you have decided to get pregnant. How you take care of yourself eventually has its bearings on your children.

This means make a serious attempt to stay away from cigarettes before, during and after pregnancy as well.