Pregnancy and Miscarriage: The Effects of Smoking

Every adult in today’s society, and even young people, should know by now that smoking is a dangerous habit. What about the ones that don’t know yet? What about the unborn infants who have no clue what is going into their bloodstream while they share the same lifeline as their mothers? After all, we know cigarettes not only are a source of the highly addictive drug nicotine, but also have loads of carcinogens. Despite the tobacco industry’s attempts to deny this, we’ve known since at least 1963 that cigarette smoking can be hazardous to our health. How then, can we encourage mothers to stop smoking while pregnant? Maybe the facts will speak for themselves:

Smoking during pregnancy has been linked to SIDS, which is short for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or the sudden and unexpected death of a baby with no known illness, typically affecting sleeping infants between the ages of two weeks to one year. Infants of mothers who smoke during pregnancy have double the chance of getting SIDS compared to non-smoking mothers. Even households where the father smokes will increase the risk through second-hand smoke. Although smoking is not the only factor that leads to SIDS, the risk for one’s own infant getting it can be significantly decreased by eliminating smoking.

Miscarriages happen every year, every month, and every day. The statistics state an overwhelming 1 in every 4 pregnancies will end in miscarriage. Smoking poses a great chance for a pregnancy to end in miscarriage. Oxygen flowing into the bloodstream is reduced with every puff you take. Not only is miscarriage a risk associated with smoking, but placental abrubtion and premature birth also factors in. Low birth weight and breathing problems can also emerge in infants.

With all the problems with smoking already, one has to wonder why anyone would take a chance at putting an unborn at risk. Smoking is a hard habit to break. However, if the facts keeps presenting themselves and reaching more and more everyday, maybe we will that many more healthy infants to welcome into the world.