Is it possible for pregnant women to smoke: the consequences of smoking during pregnancy

Pregnancy is a special period for every woman. For nine months, carefully taking care of the health of her own baby, the expectant mother eats well, regularly visits doctors, walks a lot, and takes vitamins. However, parting with a cigarette is not a priority for an alarming number of pregnant women. This also includes smoking in late pregnancy, because a certain number of expectant mothers mistakenly believe that a cigarette smoked during this period does not pose a threat to the child.

Very often, even the presence of various pathologies during pregnancy or the development of the raft is not able to force a pregnant woman to quit smoking. And giving up cigarettes, even in the last month of pregnancy, seriously reduces the risk of developing many complications. This article presents the main dangers of smoking during late pregnancy and the possible consequences for the baby.

Pregnancy and smoking

In particular, mothers addicted to nicotine boldly declare and argue that it is possible to smoke during pregnancy, and that this will in no way affect the health and breathing of the baby. Confidence about this often arises in the late stages of pregnancy, when a woman thinks that the baby is already formed and should be born soon, and that she should not quit smoking at all.

The initial stage of pregnancy has been successfully completed and the woman increasingly thinks that everything is behind her. You can relax by taking a drag from a cigarette, because according to her friends, “there’s nothing wrong with continuing to smoke.” Getting pregnant is a huge step, and often women do not give it the credit it deserves, continuing to claim that smoking while pregnant is in no way harmful.

In the modern world, pregnant girls increasingly stop paying attention to their bad habits and do not try to get rid of them, which causes their offspring to suffer.

Cigarette cessation should begin immediately at the beginning of pregnancy

Many people ask the question: how to quit smoking while pregnant, and what harm does all this do for the baby? Let's look at this issue from a medical point of view.

Half of the doctors insist that it is necessary to gradually reduce the number of cigarettes smoked per day, because if you immediately quit smoking, you can be left without nerves at all, because a woman is already entrusted with bearing a child and suffering from toxicosis, and then there is the sudden refusal of her favorite harmful drug. habits. But the rest of the doctors argue that it is necessary to quit smoking without thinking, at the moment it becomes clear that the woman has become pregnant.

Reviews: “Talking about not quitting abruptly is stupid”

I will describe a situation that left me bewildered. My sister-in-law (that is, my husband’s sister), having become pregnant, did not stop smoking, although at first she lied to me that she did not smoke. Of course, I didn’t pester her too much, I told her a couple of times to come to her senses and quit for the sake of the child, but she suddenly told me that she was told that it was absolutely forbidden to quit smoking during pregnancy, saying that the stress that the mother experiences is a hundred times more harmful. Of course, I was very skeptical about this statement, since I know what consequences a fetus has from smoking its mother, but lately I have been hearing this statement more and more often. Do pregnant mothers who smoke come up with an excuse for themselves, or are there common sense thoughts behind this?

The result, of course, followed - the other day she gave birth, during pregnancy there were various pathologies, the fetus was low-weight, it was lagging behind in development, all this was sad, but of course I encouraged her, I said that all this could be corrected, proper care would help fix everything, now it’s too late to “educate” " But I myself thought hard - maybe I don’t understand something. Is it really more harmful to quit than to poison your baby throughout the pregnancy? And what do you think

Nonsense, no metabolic processes have anything to do with it, you can quit right away. Everything else was invented by weak-willed smokers...

“...can the harm from smoking be compensated by long walks and breathing exercises?” no, carcinogenic resins and radonclids are very difficult to remove.

“... there cannot be terrible deformities from my mother’s smoking” - maybe even deformities incompatible with life, especially if the negative impact of smoking was felt precisely in the early stages, during the formation of organs.

“What if the cigarette was what calmed her down?” - stupidity, similar to the proposal not to suddenly quit smoking. complete self-deception.

“...how should you smoke so that instead of oxygen there is explosive gas inside?” - it is quite enough to smoke more than five cigarettes a day, and the harmfulness of the lungs is practically no different from the usual ones. It's all about paper, resins, impregnation, and the lighter the cigarette, the more of this. A good cigar is much safer than an ordinary cigarette.

In general, I’m already tired of all this :-))) and DO NOT WAIT for permission to smoke, you won’t even get the MINIMUM.

I smoked during the first half of pregnancy, as if to calm my nerves, but in reality I was just delaying the moment of quitting, I’ve been smoking for too long. I smoked about a cigarette a day. She gave birth normally, on her own. Hypoxia was slight at the very end of the period. Everything is ok with the child. When I stopped breastfeeding I started smoking again. In general, I think that it is selfishness and inner weakness of spirit if mommy does not quit smoking at least during pregnancy and lactation. I know that I myself am such a joke and it doesn’t do me any honor. I have never smoked a cigarette and I will never tell a pregnant woman to smoke, nothing bad will happen. Most likely it will be, just what exactly and in what form is the question.

My friend smoked both pregnancies... one daughter is already an excellent student in the sixth grade (she’s not sick at all), the second is also healthy, she’s already started talking, although she’s very young... both girls are beautiful, they were born well... I myself don’t smoke at all, the first pregnancy was in danger of being born in green waters, although on time... she often gets sick, a cyst on the kidney... arthritis is starting... now I’m in my second pregnancy, there was already a threat... So, it doesn’t have to be once in a while... depending on your luck... but I’m still against smoking.

Guest (89.250.*.*), https://www.detkityumen.ru/forum/thread/111813/?page=4

Don’t listen to anyone who says you can’t suddenly quit smoking, etc. For the sake of the child, you can and even need to quit smoking! We got up in the morning and decided that from today on, not a cigarette and follow your instructions! The child will grow up and thank you later

The effect of smoking on pregnancy

It is no secret that all girls, by their true nature, want to have a child who is strong in spirit and body. But the paradox is that half of these mothers do not follow certain rules for this, that is, for example, they do not refuse to quit smoking, which could result in not becoming a mother at all, or giving birth to a child with disabilities.

The fetus receives all the harmful components of a cigarette in every breath of the mother.

Basically, the level of health and life expectancy of a child are formed from the moment of his conception, and even long before his fertilization.

You should know what happens to the embryo and fetus during smoking during pregnancy.

Useful tips

The question of how to quit smoking during pregnancy interests many expectant mothers. This is quite real, as proven by many women! The following rules will help facilitate this process:

• Do not perform activities that make you remember cigarettes (don't drink coffee, don't drink alcohol, avoid stress, etc.). • Check out the popular book “The Easy Way to Quit Smoking” by A. Carr. • Change your daily routine, fill in the gaps with interesting activities (crafts, sports, dancing, etc.). • Walk outdoors more often. If you smoke on the street, the unfriendly reaction of passers-by will make you feel shy and awkward. As a result, you will not get pleasure from the process. In addition, during a walk, oxygen spreads faster through the tissues, and the craving for cigarettes decreases. • Replace cigarettes with sweets. Give preference to dark chocolate, sweets and lollipops.

• After 2 – 3 weeks, your weight will increase slightly. However, do not worry, metabolic processes and the functioning of the endocrine glands will soon normalize and you will return to normal. • Watch films about the intrauterine development of a child and pregnancy more often. This improves your mood and adds confidence that you are doing the right thing by giving up a bad habit. • Sign up for courses for young parents, talk to your doctor about this topic.

By following these rules, you will soon be able to quit smoking.

Dangers of smoking during pregnancy - what can happen to the fetus

• Cigarette smoke disrupts the normal functioning of the circulatory system, as a result of which the baby in the womb does not fully receive the required amount of oxygen.
• During pregnancy, the fetus is connected to the mother through the placenta. The smoking body suffers from toxic and poisonous gases in the blood, which were once oxygen; this has a detrimental effect on the development of the fetus, because the body of the embryo lacks oxygen. Thus, smoking during pregnancy causes the fetus to experience oxygen starvation! At such moments, you should realize this and start quitting smoking!
• Smoking causes various diseases in the child, disturbances in the functioning of the baby’s heart. Also, nicotine accompanies the development of the so-called “cleft lip” and the pathology of the “cleft palate”. Congenital hernia tears, slanted eyes and many other unpleasant defects.
• The balance of normal development of the child’s brain is disrupted, which contributes to the occurrence of Down syndrome. On top of that, smoking late in pregnancy means being prepared for a miscarriage.
• Also, the child’s mortality rate will be many times higher than that of a non-smoking carrier (mother).
• You can draw a conclusion for yourself based on how smoking affects pregnancy, and quickly forget about cigarettes. The risks of receiving an unhealthy inheritance are very high, and the future of your children depends only on their desire!

Fetal hypoxia leads to serious developmental disorders

To smoke or not to smoke? That is the question

Smoking has negative effects on pregnancy from the above, there is no need to continue to give examples of fatal fetal destruction during pregnancy, you need to quit smoking right now.

• Definitely quit! Even if you are not pregnant, but have already read articles about the dangers of smoking during pregnancy, then you should not wait for the right moment to quit, do it right now! The faster the better!
• There is no acceptable “portion” of cigarettes for the body. The smallest amount for a smoker is two or three cigarettes a day, but even this small amount will make itself felt, the child’s health will deteriorate even after smoking such a small dose.
• Don't worry about the dangers of quitting while in the "position." This will drive you into stressful situations much less than the future consequences of a “fetus with abnormalities”

What are the consequences for the psyche?

By the end of the 20th century, new data on the effects of smoking on pregnancy shocked the medical world. It turned out that nicotine has a bad effect not only on the physical, but also on the mental state of the unborn child. German scientists have proven that children of smoking mothers at an early age are characterized by inattention, impulsiveness and hyperactivity disorder with attention deficit disorder, and their level of mental development is below average.

Most often, the so-called “fidgety Phil” syndrome develops - these children, as a rule, are aggressive and prone to deception. English doctors came to the conclusion that children whose mothers smoked during pregnancy have a 40% increased risk of developing autism, a mental illness in which a person cannot negotiate with the surrounding reality and focuses on the world of his own experiences.

Trying to explain this fact, scientists suggested that the insufficient supply of oxygen to the embryo’s brain was to blame. In addition, it is possible that nicotine affects specific genes responsible for psychomotor functions. An international team of researchers from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, has found a link between smoking during pregnancy and children's subsequent risk of crime. They compiled information about four thousand men born in Copenhagen from September 1951 to December 1961, as well as their arrest histories, by the age of 34. It turned out that those men whose mothers smoked during pregnancy were 1.6 times more likely to end up in prison for non-violent crimes and 2 times more likely for violent ones.

How to quit smoking during pregnancy?

Scientists have provided the following motivating list.

1. Premature births are ten times more likely in women who smoke
2. First you need motivating actions and instructions to yourself!
3. Just realize and agree with the fact that smoking is harmful to your offspring. This hasn't done anyone any good yet. Even if at the beginning of life a child looks healthy, then later he will gradually begin to develop deviations. In one direction or another, and why - you know the reason.
4. Toxicosis occurs in all women who smoke and it goes away very hard
5. It is prohibited to use drugs containing nicotine!
6. Various types of smoking patches and tablets will also contribute to harm to the fetus. Therefore, give up nicotine in all its forms. Many women who are unable to get rid of the addiction on their own resort to the advice of psychologists and neurologists in order to get rid of this addiction.
7. In cases of “advanced smoking”, you can sign up for acupuncture or a session with a hypnologist - eradicating the smoking problem in this way is painless and very effective. Such sessions force the subconscious to give up the bad habit during the “pregnant” period, and in the future not to resort to tobacco addiction again. But, as in all cases of our life, if the goal of quitting smoking is not set, then no sessions will help.
8. Nicotine patches are as harmful as cigarettes

Down with self-pity!

Let's quit smoking forever! Stop smoking from the moment you think about it, no concessions! This will not provoke colossal stressful situations, but will only raise you to a new level - as a “strong-willed and spirited” person. In addition to everything else, a couple of days after quitting smoking, your body will begin the cleansing process, toxins and clogged blood ducts will open, which will give you vigor and fill not only you, but also your child with fresh oxygen, and this is a very good reason for quitting smoking.

How to quit a bad habit

You need to think about this even at the stage of preparation for conception. And when planning a pregnancy, it is necessary to take all measures to stop smoking not only for the expectant mother, but also for the expectant father.

The pregnancy period provides a great incentive to quit smoking, but pregnant women have little choice on how to get rid of nicotine addiction. Therefore, before exposing a child to the influence of nicotine tablets or patches, it is necessary to consult with a specialist who will suggest the safest way for a pregnant woman to overcome addiction.

General recommendations

Often, to stop smoking during pregnancy, a woman tries to gradually reduce the number of smoking breaks per day. However, it is not frequent smoking that poses a danger to the fetus, but the dose of nicotine received. In the case of less frequent use of cigarettes, as a rule, a compensatory effect occurs - a woman smokes fewer of them, but at the same time “puffs in” more deeply. Therefore, it is better to quit smoking immediately.

If smoking a cigarette is associated with some action, a habitual ritual, you should try to replace the habit with other activities:

• a walk;
• communication;
• reading books;
• watching a movie.

Another important thing is to keep your hands and mouth busy when cravings occur. Drawing, sewing, eating fresh fruit, or sucking on mints can help with this. In addition, it is important to control negative feelings that can lead to smoking relapse. The most common techniques:

• breathing exercises;
• listening to soothing music;
• keeping a diary (describing your feelings, thoughts and expectations);
• haptonomia (communication with an unborn baby using stroking and voice).

Overcoming withdrawal symptoms

When the smoking cessation process is complete, a woman experiences withdrawal symptoms that last from four to nine weeks and include:

• headaches;
• dizziness;
• impaired concentration;
• constipation;
• sleep problems

It must be understood that these symptoms are not alarming, but indicate that the body is adapting to a new situation. At this time, the doctor may recommend mild sedatives: taking mint or motherwort.

All your efforts to stop smoking during pregnancy are worth it to ensure that your baby develops and is born healthy. Of course, it’s good if you managed to cope with this problem before conceiving a child. But, if you were unable to quit smoking in the 1st trimester or even in the 2nd trimester, it is important to achieve this until the last weeks of pregnancy, since every cigarette smoked entails negative consequences for the baby.

Cigarette and alcohol during pregnancy

According to narcologists, a married woman is less likely to smoke than an unmarried woman. This is primarily due to lifestyle. A free girl has the opportunity to spend time at the bar, with friends in clubs, at various parties, and there, as you know, there is a great chance of smoking or bumping into a smoking person. But with a married woman things are different - home, family, work. People who are responsible for their health do not start smoking; they know that this only leads to destructive consequences. The “pregnant period” in a girl’s life is the only time to seriously think about bad habits.

Smokers age much faster

Effect of nicotine

Nicotine is a substance that easily penetrates the blood-brain barrier and the placenta. Getting into the systemic circulation, together with the blood flow it penetrates into the circulatory system of the fetus, causing a sharp disruption of all processes occurring at that moment.

Due to the effect of nicotine on placental blood flow, the amount of blood flowing to the fetus is reduced, as a result, it develops oxygen starvation and nutritional deficiency, which can lead to slower fetal growth and decreased vascular permeability of the placenta.

In the liver, nicotine is decomposed into other substances that are less dangerous to the human body, but cotinine (more about it) can cause an increase in uterine tone, which can cause miscarriage or premature birth.

The mutational effect of nicotine on embryonic development has not yet been scientifically proven, but there is ample evidence that smoking greatly increases the risk of having a child with congenital defects or chronic diseases.

Life after quitting smoking

Changes in the body after quitting smoking will be as follows.

Four weeks after giving up cigarettes, the woman’s immunity begins to recover (white blood cells return to normal).

The skin is restored due to self-cleansing of the body, the skin acquires its natural shade, elasticity returns.

During the first six months (depending on smoking experience), the filling of the lungs will increase.

The effects of smoking during pregnancy can last the child's entire life.

After two months, microcapillaries will be restored, vascular functions will improve, and blood renewal will gradually occur. The symptom of shortness of breath will be eliminated and the heart rhythm will be restored.

After six months, the liver will resume, the mucous microflora of the intestines and stomach will be renewed, in particular, with gastritis, obvious heartburn and constant discomfort in the stomach will disappear. This is due to the normal functioning of the body, which stops receiving nicotine. After a short period of time after quitting smoking, the feeling of constant discomfort in the stomach will no longer bother you.

After nine months of quitting smoking, teeth begin to whiten, yellowness on nails disappears, and the lungs begin to function normally, consuming 10 percent more oxygen than during smoking.

A year after quitting smoking, the risk of heart problems such as stroke and heart attack decreases. By quitting smoking before pregnancy, a girl gives her baby a chance for a healthy life, in no way inferior in health to those children born to non-smoking women. If you quit smoking during pregnancy, there is also a high chance that the baby will also be born healthy.

Smoking before conception

One of the negative consequences of smoking is decreased reproductive function.

. Moreover, this applies not only to expectant mothers, but also to expectant fathers. Women who smoke experience unpleasant symptoms such as menstrual irregularities, lack of ovulation, earlier onset of menopause, and non-viability of mature eggs. Men, in turn, risk developing impotence and oligospermia (a disease in which sperm production is reduced). In addition, the concentration of viable sperm in a smoker's semen is significantly reduced.

Smoking before pregnancy is dangerous not only because it reduces the chance of pregnancy. Poisoning the mother's body with nicotine and other harmful compounds increases the risk of developing various complications during pregnancy and negatively affects the baby's health in the future.

The conclusion suggests itself: smoking and planning a pregnancy are incompatible things. By the way, future parents should take into account the fact that complete cleansing of the body from the harmful effects of smoking takes from 1–2 months to one and a half years, depending on the length of the smoker and the number of cigarettes smoked.

Statistics on smoking during pregnancy

Facts and conclusions

The use of nicotine (no matter how many cigarettes are smoked) seriously harms the process of pregnancy and gestation, and also, almost three times more often, there are huge risks of encountering a poor completion of childbirth. The negative effect of smoking on the birth of a child accounts for up to 32% of negative consequences.

According to statistics, more than 20% of girls do not quit smoking even after becoming pregnant.

The offspring of girls who smoke have a risk of developing diabetes in their early teens and gaining a lot of weight (obesity in children is a common side effect). The harm of female smoking during pregnancy is clear.

Boys born to women suffering from nicotine addiction are at risk of having smaller testicles, and the concentration of sperm in semen will be on average 18% lower than in the offspring of women who are not dependent on nicotine.

Children addicted to nicotine in utero often become enthusiastic cigarette addicts themselves.

Women who smoke one or more packs per day risk an increase in the miscarriage rate by one and a half times than those who do not smoke. On top of that, if in addition to cigarettes a woman also drinks alcohol, the risk of miscarriage increases five times.

According to doctors, the mortality rate of children during childbirth and in the first months of life (sudden infant death) among those who smoke is on average 32% higher than among non-smokers. Twins are especially susceptible to this syndrome.

Up to 15% of premature births in the United States are a consequence of smoking.

In developed countries, 1/3 of overweight babies are born as a result of their mothers' smoking. A woman who smokes one pack a day dramatically increases the risk (by 30 percent) of having her baby at extremely low birth weight.

Sad facts

Pregnancy and smoking cannot be combined. This fact is confirmed by the following data. According to recent studies, children whose mothers smoked while pregnant are a third more likely to suffer from early diabetes or teenage obesity.

If a pregnant woman does not stop smoking while carrying a boy, his testicles will be much smaller in size than normal. At the same time, the level of sperm concentration in seminal fluid is reduced by 20% compared to normal values. A child whose mother smoked during pregnancy is a potential smoker.

Often, a pregnant woman does not have the willpower to completely quit smoking. All she can do to ease her conscience is to reduce the number of cigarettes she smokes. It has long been proven that every cigarette is harmful, causing an irreparable blow to the intrauterine child.