Smoking during pregnancy is very unhe althy for the fetus. Don't even think about relapse after giving birth! And not only when you are breastfeeding! If you've been immune to the arguments for quitting smoking so far, it's time to change that. Your baby's he alth is more important.

A large group of smokers from the very first dayspregnancyfeels a sudden aversion tocigarettesand thanks to this they quit the addiction completely painlessly.

If you are not one of them, it will be harder for you, but believe that the overwhelming urge to smoke is really manageable.

Smoking is harmful to pregnancy

As cliché as it may sound, cigarettes are poison. When you smoke while pregnant,babyis hypoxic and malnourished - its weight is often 200-300 g less than that of babies whose mums have not smoked. He is weaker than his peers, more prone to diseases, may have respiratory problems and cardiovascular disorders.

In addition, the risk of sudden cot death is increasing. In addition, scientific research shows that the child of smoking parents may have problems both with learning and with proper relations with the environment.

He is also exposed to constant contact with 4,000 toxic substances, 40 of which are definitely carcinogenic.

The smoke includes: carbon monoxide (the most dangerous), ammonia, hydrocyanic acid, butane, methanol, vinyl chloride, formaldehyde, phenol, tar and many others.

Every cigarette you smoke increases the risk of complications in pregnancy, including the possibility of miscarriage, premature birth, premature detachment of the placenta, rupture of the membranes, ectopic pregnancy, and increases the risk of stillbirth.

Important

It is not true that:

  • smoking prevents weight gain
  • light cigarettes are less harmful
  • if your friends smoked during pregnancy and gave birth to he althy babies, yours are safe as well
  • after childbirth it will be easier to break the addiction
  • harmful substances are filtered by the mother's body; they are much more dangerous for a toddler than for you, because his immune system is not fully developed.

If you smoke after giving birth:

  • baby sleeps badly
  • suffer from colic
  • I don't want to eat
  • is hyperactive
  • will be more prone to allergies.

Remember that while reducing the amount of cigarettes you smoke is sometimes the first step in quitting smoking, it doesn't really do any good, because by smoking fewer cigarettes, you usually inhale much deeper and inhale more tobacco smoke.

Learn ways to quit smoking

Be strong-willed and stop smoking while pregnant

It is never too late to quit smoking when pregnant. Of course, it's best to think about it before you become pregnant, because then you can use various aids - gums, slices or tablets, which are forbidden after conception.

They contain nicotine, which is as dangerous for a developing child as a cigarette. So if you missed it, now a real test of your willpower awaits you. But it is definitely worth taking this attempt, because the benefits are difficult to overestimate:

  • If you are successful in quitting smoking in the first trimester of pregnancy, your baby's risk of low birth weight, prematurity, bleeding during pregnancy, or stillbirth will be similar to those of women who have never smoked
  • Even if you stop smoking only in the 30th week of pregnancy, you will still give your baby a chance to make up for losses and balance his birth weight.

When is smoking harmful to my baby the most?

Although smoking is harmful throughout pregnancy, it has the most negative impact on the development of the fetus in the last two months of pregnancy.

Smoking and breastfeeding

Childbirth does not mean that you can go back to addiction with impunity. Smoking while breastfeeding harms your baby in the same way - poisonous substances are transferred to him in the milk.

There is less vitamin C and nutrients in it, and the nicotine content causes periods of anxiety and insomnia, vomiting, diarrhea, colic, as well as increased heart rate and circulatory disorders. Children breathe faster, so as passive smokers they also inhale more smoke.

If you or Daddy smoke, your baby is more likely to develop respiratory infections, allergies and asthma. As he grows up, there is a greater risk of developing diabetes, asthma, bronchitis, atherosclerosis, heart disease, and high blood pressure.

This is only a fragment of the list of threats resulting from your addiction, but probably enough to support a strong will in moments of weakness.

How to break an addiction

At first, you may feel anxious, nervous. May appearcoughing and more abundant secretion of mucus from the respiratory tract, which will testify to the removal of cigarette impurities that have accumulated in them. These unpleasant symptoms usually disappear after about two weeks. It's definitely harder to deal with your own psyche.

What can help you?

  • Advance your loved ones - tell everyone that you just quit smoking because you are pregnant. This should bring you two benefits: it will make it easier for you to avoid contact with tobacco smoke, and it will make it harder for you to "accidentally" reach for a cigarette. However, when you forget and you smoke, don't get discouraged! Nobody is perfect, and the he alth of a child should not be compromised by one stumble. Think about when you will be missing a cigarette the most (e.g. after a meal, during a phone call or over coffee) and then try to have "substitute products" on hand, such as a glass of water or apple juice, fruit and vegetable snacks, seeds or gum chewing.
  • Change your habits - avoid your favorite kiosk for the first few days, avoid places and situations that "encourage" smoking and those that you associate with cigarettes. In restaurants, sit in the non-smoking section. When hanging out with friends, avoid those who smoke and can't help themselves, even though they know your condition is different.
  • Don't think about smoking - take care of your future plans and all the things that have been lying fallow. Enrolling in a birthing school will help you, as well as exercises for pregnant women. Concentrate on the current day - this way you avoid wondering how you will do without smoking throughout your life. Think that once, although it was quite a long time ago, you didn't smoke and then you didn't miss it.
  • Reward yourself every time you manage to resist temptation irresistible, e.g. buy yourself something nice.

Dad doesn't smoke either

Your efforts will be wasted, however, if Daddy doesn't quit smoking. Research shows that smoking by the father may cause a miscarriage. Each cigarette he smokes gives off twice as much smoke from the side stream as from the main stream. Side smoke is emitted from the cigarette for as long as it is smoked. It is filtered neither by a cigarette filter, nor by a "living filter", which are the lungs, and therefore it is even more harmful than the main smoke exhaled by smoking.

Category:

Pregnancy