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McKesson Clinical Reference Systems: Women's Health Advisor 2002.2
Spanish version
Smoking During Pregnancy and Around Infants and Children
It is not healthy for any person to smoke. If you are
pregnant and you smoke during your pregnancy, you may harm
your baby as well as yourself.
Your lungs absorb the chemicals in cigarette smoke. Some of
these chemicals cause the vessels supplying blood to the
uterus to become narrower. This means the baby gets less
oxygen and food from the blood. As a result, the baby has a
greater risk of low birth weight. The baby also has a
greater chance of being born too early. Babies who are both
underweight and premature have more problems during and
after delivery. Recent research also shows that a powerful
cancer-causing chemical called NNK is transmitted to the
baby when the mother smokes. If you smoke, you are more
likely to have a miscarriage, a child with disabilities, a
stillborn, or a tubal pregnancy outside the uterus.
The risk of stillbirth or sudden infant death syndrome
(SIDS) during the first month after birth increases if you
smoke. Compared to a nonsmoker, the risk increases 20% if
you smoke up to one pack of cigarettes a day during
pregnancy. The risk is 35% greater if you smoke more than
one pack a day.
The smoke from cigarettes, cigars, and pipes is unhealthy
for a baby after birth. Infants and children who are
exposed to smoke (passive smoking) are more likely to have
chronic coughs, bronchitis, and ear infections.
If you are planning to become pregnant, you should quit
smoking before you try to conceive. If you are already
pregnant, you should quit smoking as soon as possible. If
you are not able to quit completely, try to cut down to
fewer than 5 cigarettes a day. Cutting down or stopping
smoking during pregnancy reduces the risks. If you stop
smoking early in pregnancy, the risks for your baby are
about the same as for women who are nonsmokers.
And remember that family members should not smoke around
infants and children.
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