Are you a smoker…, and pregnant at the same time? It is a known fact that smoking is injurious to health, but the harmful effects of smoking while pregnant can prove to be fatal to your baby. Read on to find out more…
Smoking leads to a lot of different health issues and concerns. However, if you are a smoker and you think there is nothing that can push you to quit this habit, try thinking about your baby’s health! Do you even realize the harmful effects of smoking while pregnant? In fact, experts say that health conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes can still be managed when it comes to delivering a healthy baby, but if the expecting mother is a smoker and fails to quit this habit, even the experts cannot comment about the health of the baby by the time it will be due for delivery!
There can be many concerns that can arise due to smoking while you are pregnancy. These include miscarriages, premature delivery, underweight baby, stillbirth, defects in the heart, lungs and other respiratory problems, to name a few. If you want to save your baby from all these risks and health concerns, then make sure that you stop NOW!
Effects of Smoking on the Unborn Baby
Do you know that the smoke you inhale contains more than 4000 chemicals that can prove to be disastrous for the health of the baby growing inside you! Cigarette smoke contains substances like nicotine, lead, cyanide, and other elements that can actually lead to some fatal health issues including cancer! Imagine, your habit is exposing your baby to the risk of living an unhealthy life, even before its birth!
When you inhale the smoke, it enters your bloodstream, which also happens to be the source of nutrition for the baby. The harmful substances can hamper the overall development of the baby in terms of the size, weight, organ development, brain development and so on. Mentioned below are some of the commonly known side effects of smoking during pregnancy.
Smoking leads to Premature Birth
Firstly, smoking actually makes it difficult for a woman to conceive. So consider yourself to be lucky for conceiving in the first place. If you still fail to value this and continue smoking all the while during your pregnancy, then there are chances that you will end up giving birth to a premature baby. A baby who has come out before being completely developed is prone to suffer from various health issues if he manages to survive. There could be issues like mental retardation, learning disabilities, and other health issues.
Do you Want Your Baby to be Underweight at Birth?
Smoking actually decreases the oxygen supply for your baby. The nicotine present in the smoke actually makes the blood vessels narrow down, thereby reducing the oxygen supply to the growing baby. Not only this, because the red blood cells that carry oxygen also tend to get contaminated by the harmful substances of smoke, it makes all the more impossible for your baby to get the essential nutrients that it requires to grow, which leads to underweight baby. They say smoking even one pack a day can take off half a pound from your baby’s weight. An underweight baby will be more prone to suffer from long term health issues.
Do You Want to Give Birth to a Healthy Baby?
Who wouldn’t?… but then the question is, can you with your smoking habit? Do you realize that in order to give birth to a healthy baby, you have to quit even before you conceive?. If you have already conceived, then it’s not too late. Quitting in the first trimester of the pregnancy can actually increase your chances to a great extent when it comes to giving birth to a healthy baby! The fetus actually starts growing and starts gaining weight after 14 to 16 weeks. So, make sure that you make every attempt to quit so that you give birth to a fully developed and healthy baby and avoid being the reason behind your baby’s serious health conditions or death!
Quit if You Don’t Want to Lose your Baby!
… continued from the aforementioned point, do you know that smoking is considered to be one of the most serious cause of conditions like miscarriages and other complications in the pregnancy? In fact, smoking can actually increase the chances of your baby being at the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Not to mention that these women are also under the risk of pregnancy issues like ectopic pregnancy, placental abruption (this is wherein the placenta tends to peel off from the uterine wall before the delivery), death of the fetus and stillbirth. So realize that every cigarette you smoke, or even if you inhale the smoke around you, it is reaching your baby and putting it in the dangers which can lead to death.
Smoking Equals Making Your Baby Live with Health Problems
There are many birth defects that can accompany your baby for a lifetime. Some of these birth defect include congenital heart problems, lung problems and respiratory problems. In fact, smoking can also cause babies to be born with abnormalities like a cleft lip or palate. Studies show that even passive smoking can prove to be harmful for the baby in more or less the same way as in case of a full-time smoker. So it is not only advisable for you to quit smoking but also to stay away from everything and anything exposing you, and most importantly, your baby to the smoke.
Now that you have gained a clear idea of the harmful effects of smoking during pregnancy, and how this addiction can put your baby at a fatal risk…, which also includes death; you must make sure that you quit smoking as soon as possible! Mothers are known to be the nurturer and the protector of their baby. We all know that becoming a mother isn’t an easy job. You are responsible for each and every step that you take for yourself as it also affects your baby. Remember, your life and your body is not ‘just yours’. There is a life growing inside you, and it’s on you how healthy and beautiful that life would be. So make sure that everything that you do from now on, only makes your baby the most healthy and happy baby in the whole world. Take care.
