What happens when a pregnant woman smokes?
Smoking strongly harms your health in general, we know that, but if a future mother smokes during pregnancy, what happens for the baby?
As we know, tobacco consumption is one of the main factors that cause health problems and complications that can occur during pregnancy. Logical, since tobacco contains several substances harmful to health: nicotine, tar and carbon monoxide.
If we take a closer look at nicotine, responsible for cigarettes dependence, it produces an effect on the vessels of the uterus that contract and, therefore, decrease the blood flow to the fetus. As for carbon monoxide, it decreases the oxygen intake in the blood and crosses the placenta barrier, slowing down the growth of the fetus: it is therefore particularly dangerous for pregnant women. Finally, the tar is carcinogenic and leaves deposits in the lungs: the risks for the fetus are considerable.
What happens when you smoke before and after pregnancy?
Cigarettes leads to a drop in fertility in men, but also in women. First of all, because the production of estrogens decreases and the menstrual cycle is less stable, then accompanied by a decrease in the quality of the eggs. Then, because the endometrium can be affected and prevent the embryo from implanting it properly. Tobacco can also cause an early menopause.
When a pregnant woman smokes, she is more vulnerable and exposed to an increased risk of miscarriage and extra-uterine pregnancy. If it smokes more than one package a day, it is likely to suffer from a placenta "praevia" or "abrupt", two potentially serious disorders resulting in poor development or premature detachment of the placenta. Smoking during pregnancy can also lead to early childbirth, not to mention the risk of congenital malformations.
When the baby is born, its weight is on average lower than that of babies born from non -smoking mothers and the risk of death during the first year of life is higher. Newborns exposed to smoking from pregnancy can suffer from microcephaly (low cranial perimeter), asthma or repeated ear infections. Growing up, the child is likely to suffer from physiological or mental disorders, hyperactivity, diabetes or obesity.
Cigarettes causes strong dependence and, like all addictions, it is difficult to do without it. But it is not impossible: the important thing is consistency and determination. For some women, waiting for a baby is enough to quit smoking, but for others, cigarettes is an anti-stress so powerful that they continue despite all the recommendations. Unfortunately, many popular ideas exist on tobacco during pregnancy: no consequences on the fertility or the good development of the baby, possibility of smoking "a little" ... In summary, there are a multitude of reasons to avoid cigarettes in Being pregnant and, good news, quitting smoking at the start of pregnancy makes it possible to considerably fall the risks mentioned above.
And those around him in all of this? Of course, passive smoking is also very harmful for the development of the fetus. The particles contained in the smoke is extremely volatile: if the companion smokes a cigarette on the balcony for example, the window must be closed. Motivating the future dad to quit smoking during pregnancy, at the same time as the future mother, is a very good thing: two, the chances of succeeding are multiplied!
