Risks of Smoking When Pregnant   by Joanne Ott

If you are wanting to become pregnant and you smoke, you really must quit not only for your health, but the health of your unborn baby. Although it can be difficult to quit, there are several quit smoking aids available now. There are several risks of smoking when pregnant, as it can have an adverse effect on both the development of the fetus as well as future growth.

Quitting smoking can result in an estimated reduction of 10% in infant mortality. There are other reasons to avoid cigarettes or even second hand smoke.

The smoke from a cigarette has thousands of harmful chemicals - shockingly, over 2,000 of them enter the baby's bloodstream with every puff of a cigarette. Nicotine, carbon monoxide and tar are the most toxic to the unborn child, affecting the most critical stages of development, while growing inside the mother.

Even second hand smoke can affect the unborn baby. The pregnant woman who smokes or is exposed to the smoke of others has a greater chance of delivering an underweight baby and stunted growth. The sooner a woman quits or avoids second hand smoke, the greater the chances of good health for her and the infant.

Cigarettes are linked to a higher risk of ectopic pregnancy, which is when the fertilized egg is implanted in the fallopian tube instead of the uterus. Smoking can also increase the chance of stillbirth, miscarriage and vaginal bleeding.

Smoking when expecting a baby increases the risks of other things such as slower prenatal development, low birth weight and early birth (the baby is born before 37 weeks of gestation) by one third. There also may be abnormalities the child may have such as cleft lip, cleft palate or other congenital defects.

Babies who have mothers that smoke are at higher risk for SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), and also may develop asthma, behavioral and learning problems because of the slowdown in growth development.

It is very clear that there are great risks of smoking when pregnant, or being in contact with second hand smoke, as it can have adverse effects on both you and the infant, both before and after birth.
To learn of other important factors that can affect your pregnancy and ability to conceive, read the international best selling ebook, Personal Path to Pregnancy.