Dr. Marjorie Greenfield
Specializing in pregnancy and birth.
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 Ask Dr. Greenfield
Results of Smoking While Pregnant | | | QUESTION | | | Dear Dr. Greenfield,
Hi. What would happen to the baby if I smoke during the pregnancy? Will it hurt the baby? Will the baby be OK, if I smoke, when it gets here?
— Paranoid Mom in Texas | | | ANSWER |
June 12, 2001 | | | Dear Paranoid Mom,
There are real medical risks to smoking in pregnancy. I would call you realistic, not paranoid, to be worrying about it. And I also would say that the fact you are interested in the risks from smoking is a sign that you take your maternal responsibilities very seriously. While it may be difficult to quit, here is information to help motivate you to do the right thing for your baby.
- Smokers have more miscarriages than non-smokers. It is tragic to see women who are grieving over their lost pregnancy and at the same time blaming themselves for its occurrence. You never want to be in a position to say "if only I had taken better care of this pregnancy, this bad outcome wouldn't have occurred." It is better to quit up front than wait until you have to deal with this kind of situation.
- Cigarettes contain carbon monoxide, which substitutes for oxygen in your bloodstream and diminishes the oxygen you can send to your developing baby. Some babies of smokers are born with polycythemia, a condition where the fetus has compensated for the lack of oxygen by making extra red blood cells. This extra-thick blood can lead to complications of sludging, where paradoxically the baby's organs don't get enough oxygen. I saw a mom who smoked two packs a day lose her full-term baby after birth from this effect.
- Cigarettes contain nicotine, which causes the blood vessels that feed the uterus and the placenta to spasm, decreasing the flow of oxygen and nutrients that reach the fetus. Babies of smokers are smaller than if their mothers didn't smoke because fetal nutrition is restricted by the effects of nicotine.
For more information, see our articles on cigarette smoking during pregnancy and secondhand smoke and children's health, and for tips on how to quit, go to the American Cancer Society web page at http://www.cancer.org/tobacco/quitting.html. Good luck!— by Marjorie Greenfield, M.D. |
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