We are moved to watch the fetus in the mother's womb on the monitor. The ultrasound machine shows the outline of the nose and eyelids, bent legs and handles. In fingers - pet. Around the head, instead of amniotic fluid, puffs of smoke. This is a shocking photomontage. But is it only? Find out what are the consequences of smoking while pregnant.

Duringpregnancyand breastfeeding, the vast majority of women refrain fromsmoking . This means that they are aware of the consequences of their addiction. Unfortunately, as much as 30 percent. smokers poisons their own children even before birth. Are they so unimaginative? Knowledge resistant? Or maybe they would be able, for example, to inject their little one with arsenic? Of course not! They are only so incapacitated bynicotine . Why is this crime not being pursued by anyone? The stinging defenders of life are demanding harsh pen alties for abortion. However, it is not heard that anyone would punish for slow killing with the use of hydrocyanic acid, ammonia, arsenic, butane, methyl chloride, vinyl chloride, formaldehyde, tar, methanol, carbon monoxide, nitrosamines, phenols and dozens of other substances contained in tobacco smoke. And yet this crime - poisoning the fetus with smoke by a smoking mother - is undeniable and indisputable.

Pregnant with a cigarette?

When a pregnant woman puffs on the smoke, the fetal heart rate immediately jumps from 130 to 180 beats per minute. Does a heart so burdened in an embryo have a chance for normal development? A small passive smoker is not only poisoned, exposed to carcinogenic substances, but also receives less nutrients in the blood and 25 percent less nutrients. less oxygen. The state of chronic hypoxia does not allow it to develop properly. A newborn baby is sometimes malnourished. It weighs 200-300 g less than children of non-smoking parents or is born premature, so:

  • is weaker, has cardiovascular and metabolic disorders,
  • has trouble breathing because his lungs are not fully ready for their function,
  • may have birth defects,
  • sometimes dies suddenly (the so-called sudden cot death is often associated with the addiction of the parents).

A pregnant smoker also exposes herself and must take into account the increased risk:

  • miscarriages,
  • premature labor,
  • premature detachment of the placenta and ruptures of the membranes,
  • stillbirth.

Relapse after childbirth

The maternal instinct is powerful. Thanks to it, most women can go without a cigarette for at least a year - as long as pregnancy and breastfeeding last. Unfortunately, not all of them. Meanwhile, the mother's milk of a smoker has less vitamin C and nutrients, and the nicotine it contains (not counting other poisons) makes the baby's heart beat faster than it should. This causes anxiety, insomnia, and also circulatory problems. There are also mothers who use any excuse to wean their baby off their breasts and return to the addiction. It is enough that the child sucks less willingly …

How do I quit smoking?

Do not smoke in front of a pregnant woman

Those who smoke in the presence of a pregnant woman are also guilty. They poison her and the baby. The smoke rising from a cigarette when mixed with air is an even worse poison than the one absorbed directly into the lungs when inhaling. Newborn babies whose fathers smoke die more often, regardless of whether their mothers are smokers, and reports in the press of careless parents are shocking. Not only do they smoke themselves, but they also invite smoking guests to the house and celebrate the birth of their offspring with them. After a few hours, the poisoned infant dies.

Child in the smoking house

The most vulnerable victims of addiction are the offspring of smokers, if they survive. Children breathe much faster than adults and thus absorb much more pollutants! Staying in the smoke, they become tearful, moody, sleep worse, refuse to eat, vomit more often, suffer from constipation, diarrhea, more severe colic, circulatory disorders and increased blood pressure. They have dry mucous membranes and an irritated, less immune respiratory system. Therefore:

  • have a constant cold,
  • they cough twice as often, they have pharyngitis, upper respiratory tract, bronchitis and lung inflammations,
  • more likely to have chronic sinusitis and ear infections (otitis media is the main cause of childhood-acquired deafness),
  • suffer from bronchial asthma or allergies and have a harder time suffering from these diseases,
  • suffer from gastroenteritis more often,
  • they develop worse physically and mentally, have a significantly reduced biological resistance.

Small passive smokers become much more likely to suffer from diabetes, asthma, bronchitis, atherosclerosis, heart disease and hypertension when they grow up.

And the doctor allowed

Monika is 28 years old, has been smoking since 12. She is six months pregnant. Smoking is forbidden in her company and smoke fans gather around ashtrays in the yard. You can meet Monika there. Girlfriends are surprised by her. She is also surprised: what a big deal. After all, she limited smoking to a few items a day. Anyway, the gynecologist who conducts her pregnancy reportedly said: "If you are going to be stressed because of this, it is better if you light yourself from time to time." Monika's husband is also an addict and smokes with her without restrictions. When the baby is born, it will continue to be smoked systematically. When asked if they are planning to quit, Monika does not answer. Pushed to the wall, she says drug addiction treatments cost money. She did not find out about free courses.

According to an expertKrzysztof Dynowski, MD, PhD, specialist in obstetrician gynecology

Haven't heard of doctors advising pregnant women to continue smoking! If the doctor said this, he is probably a victim of addiction himself, but that does not explain it. In no case can it be considered that the continued smoking of cigarettes by the future mother will protect the fetus from the stress associated with the so-called nicotine starvation. This stress is not a threat. Neither the woman nor her child. Nobody has died of… quitting smoking yet. In contrast, it has been proven beyond reasonable doubt that nicotine and other compounds in tobacco smoke can kill or damage an unborn child. If the pregnant woman somehow does not know it, she should find out from her gynecologist. The ideal would be to not smoke from the day of conception, and definitely from the moment the pregnancy test shows positive. You need to stop smoking immediately, even though pregnancy is not the best time to fight addiction. There are no less harmful cigarettes, and no less harmful number of them. This is the only truth that a doctor can tell a pregnant patient. Smoking during pregnancy and in the presence of a pregnant woman is simply a crime. It is not subject to any discussion.

Smoke decay

American scientists from the University of Rochester in New York and the Center for Child He alth Research examined 3500 children aged 4-11 years and found that 25 percent. of them would not have developed caries if they were not exposed to inhalation of cigarette smoke. It has been shown that children raised in smoking homes have more cotinine (a nicotine derivative) in their blood and more cavities in the milk teeth. Passive smoking doubles the risk of cavities, scientists say.

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