Pregnant Women

Pregnant Smokers: A Critical Health Issue

Smoking before and during pregnancy is the single most preventable cause of illness and death among mothers and infants. Smoking while pregnant increases the risk of having a baby that is born prematurely by 30%. It increases the risk of having a lower birth weight baby and increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome. Smoking while pregnant can also lead to an astonishing number of children's health problems, including pneumonia and asthma.

Learn More:

Fetal Exposure to Secondhand Smoke
The Dangers of Secondhand Smoke
New Reasons for Concern
The Surgeon General’s Report
Helping Pregnant Women Quit
Additional Links

Fetal Exposure to Secondhand Smoke

Nicotine crosses the placenta freely, along with other toxic constituents of cigarette smoke, including cyanide and carbon monoxide. Exposure of the fetus to tobacco smoke components in utero, either by active smoking by the mother or exposure to secondhand smoke, increases susceptibility to numerous health risks, such as:

Low birth weight
Higher risk of delivering a preterm infant
Higher perinatal mortality
Increased bleeding during pregnancy
Higher risk of miscarriage
Higher risk of birth defects

Expectant mothers should be aware of the effect of their smoking on their unborn child, and be strongly encouraged to quit smoking.

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The Dangers of Secondhand Smoke

Exposure to secondhand smoke causes premature birth and disease in children and adults who do not smoke. Secondhand smoke doubles the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, and even passive smoke intake by pregnant women may have detrimental effects such as lower birth weights, spontaneous abortions, stillbirths, reduced infant lung function, and pregnancy complications.

Secondhand smoke can be absorbed through the skin of babies, inhaled and swallowed by babies and transferred by a hug from mother to baby. Warning all pregnant women about these risks can raise awareness and motivate change.

Find information about the susceptibility of infants and young children to secondhand smoke at The American Lung Association.

Read the Report of the Surgeon General concerning the Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke.

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New Reasons for Concern

According to an AP medical news report, researchers have discovered a link between some cases of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder among U.S. children and exposure to tobacco smoke before birth. Children whose mothers smoked during pregnancy were two and a half times more likely to have ADHD than children who weren’t prenatally exposed to tobacco. Read the news report.
A new study found that women who smoked from some point in the month before conception through to the end of their first trimester were 60% more likely to have babies with a congenital heart defect. Exposure to secondhand smoke in early pregnancy also increased the risk of CHD. Read the report.

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The Surgeon General’s Report: The Health Consequences of Smoking

Compared with unexposed infants, babies exposed to secondhand smoke after birth are at twice the risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), and infants whose mothers smoked before and after birth are at three to four times greater risk.
Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of pregnancy complications, premature delivery, low-birth-weight infants, stillbirth, SIDS.
The nicotine in cigarettes may cause constrictions in the blood vessels of the umbilical cord and uterus, thereby decreasing the amount of oxygen available to the fetus. Nicotine also may reduce the amount of blood in the fetal cardiovascular system.
Nicotine is found in breast milk.
Babies of mothers who smoked during pregnancy have lower birth weights. Low birth weight is a leading cause of infant deaths.

Go to the Surgeon General’s Report.

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Helping Pregnant Women Quit

Chances of relapse for new mothers escalates. Help them stay smoke free by pointing them toward ways to get through times when they are most tempted. Find help at Withdrawal & Relapse.

Pregnant women who have received brief smoking cessation counseling are more likely to quit smoking. Clinicians should offer effective smoking cessation interventions to pregnant smokers at the first prenatal visit and throughout the pregnancy.

Providing tips and resources can double a smoker’s chances of quitting. Prenatal Care Providers can help begin the process of cessation by explaining the benefits for patient and baby and the key steps to quitting successfully. Get the Help for Pregnant Smokers tear sheet.

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