Effects Of Smoking During Pregnancy

By Leeanne Utiger
If you are a pregnant woman and normally are also a smoker, I suggest you kick your smoking habit and find out about its effects right now. In this article I am going to go in to brief detail about the effects of smoking during a pregnancy.

When you keep smoking during your pregnancy, you are in fact running the risk of prohibiting the growth of your unborn baby. This is a very bad effect of smoking. Nicotine, carbon monoxide and cyanide are all components of a cigarette and they are all very harmful to an unborn baby and can cause serious effects to your baby. Obviously a very good reason while your should not be smoking during a pregnancy. There are also other effects that can come from smoking during a pregnancy. The more cigarettes a woman smokes during a pregnancy, the lighter the baby will weigh at time of birth. Cigarette smoking during pregnancy will restrict blood flow through the blood vessels of your baby and will reduce the oxygen and nutrient levels that the baby needs to receive. You have to realize that if you are smoking during your pregnancy, you are running the risk of effects such as: giving birth to a very small baby or a very ill baby.

Smoking during a pregnancy can in fact have the ability to create abnormalities in you unborn baby, therefore causing possible serious medical conditions and effects on birth or later in your babies early years. Bowel problems, along with problems with your babies ears, and smoking during a pregnancy can even cause problems and effects to your babies spinal cord. Do you really want to continue smoking during your pregnancy when you learn just what smoking can do to your baby and what effects it can cause?

Smoking during a pregnancy can cause effects not only for your unborn baby, but also for you. Smoking while pregnant can cause respiratory problems for you. In addition that smoking during a pregnancy can cause depression in the nervous system and increased blood pressure. Are you yourself prepared to suffer from such effects?

More serious than the effects above, (although the above effects are serious also), smoking during a pregnancy can create more chance of you having an ectopic pregnancy, a miscarriage, a stillbirth, vomiting and bleeding during a pregnancy. All of these effects will require you to be admitted to the hospital for medical care. If you are still smoking during your pregnancy, you are in fact running a higher risk of obtaining pregnancy complications or effects, or even the loss of your baby. Is this what you really want?

There are ways you can give up smoking and take care of yourself and your unborn baby during your pregnancy to eliminate such effects. Gather all the support you need to help you stay away from any cigarettes. Find other interests to keep your mind off smoking. Take up knitting. Learn to knit your baby some woolen garments during your pregnancy. Do anything that will veer you away from wanting to be smoking, during your pregnancy. The possible outcomes from smoking during a pregnancy simply are not worth it.

If you feel yourself wanting a smoke, then head outside for a short relaxed walk in the fresh air. This will make you feel better and will in fact take away the want to be smoking. During your pregnancy you will learn to feel better, and eventually not want, nor think of smoking. Once your pregnancy over and you have your brand new bundle of joy in your arms, you will be more than grateful that you decided to give up on the smoking habit during your pregnancy. And who knows? Because you gave up smoking during your pregnancy, you may have managed to give up smoking completely. Now this would most definitely be something you can be proud of, for smoking is of no beneficial health gain to you at all.

Smoking, or the health of your baby? I know which I would rather opt for!

See Also:
Smoking effects

Women's health and pregnancy

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