Suffolk Stop Smoking Service
Smoking and Pregnancy

Cigarette Smoke and Pregnancy

Cigarette smoke contains over 4000 chemicals, including 60 which cause cancer.

Most of these will cross the placenta into the baby’s bloodstream.

NICOTINE is highly addictive, which is why it is so hard to stop smoking. It increases the heartbeat of both you and your baby, making labour harder to cope with. It narrows blood vessels, causing raised blood pressure. This can reduce the blood supply to your baby through the placenta.

CARBON MONOXIDE is a gas present in tobacco smoke. It attaches itself to your oxygen-carrying blood cells, which can cause you to be breathless. This is probably why babies of smokers are smaller, because they do not benefit from the same amounts of oxygen.

TAR is the name for the chemicals in cigarette smoke, producing a sticky substance which increases your chances of lung cancer. Changing to a lower tar cigarette does not help because you will inhale the tobacco smoke more deeply into your lungs.

PASSIVE SMOKE affects the health of both you and your new baby! Don’t let people smoke around either of you.

The health benefits of giving up for you and your baby

Stopping smoking is the best things that you can do for yourself and your baby.

v      Less risk of miscarriage;

v      More change of reaching your due date;

v      You and your baby will be able to cope better with the stresses of labour;

v      Less risk of cot death (smoking contributes to ¼ of all cot deaths);

v      Your baby will be a healthier birth weight;

v      You will have more money to spend;

v      Less risk of your baby needing to see a doctor for breathing problems or ear infections;

v      You will reduce your chances of developing cancer, heart and lung disease;

v      Less change of your children taking up smoking.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE HELP TO STOP SMOKING YOU CAN CALL FOR ADVICE:

Last Modified: December 2002