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Why the Womb Should Be a Smoke-Free Environment
By Dr. Gerard M. DiLeo, MD
An unborn baby is at risk for many complications when the mother-to-be smokes. Dr. DiLeo explains the harmful effects of cigarette smoke to the fetus.
Think a cigarette or two early in your pregnancy won't hurt your growing baby? Think again. Find out why stopping smoking now is essential not only for your health, but for your yet-to-be-born baby's health, too.
While pregnant, the smoking mother puts her child at risk for premature separation of the placenta, called abruption, which is a devastating hemorrhaging event that can result in death of the baby and possibly even that of the mother, too. Additionally, nicotine is a vasoconstrictor, which means it narrows the nutrition- and oxygen-carrying blood vessels to the baby. So, each and every drag of a cigarette not only means less oxygen and nutrition to the baby's brain and other organs, but injury the placenta, which is the crucial life-sustaining link between mother and child. Smoking also increases the risk that a child may develop leukemia. Each year, the research becomes even more frightening.
Pediatric asthma and the repeated upper respiratory infections (croup) are more likely in a smoking home. Spending three hours in an emergency room in the middle of the night, over and over, can get pretty old pretty fast. It's unfair to the child, certainly, and no one from the tobacco industry is there to help out the next morning when you have to go to work anyway after such a traumatic night with your child.
Premature rupture of membranes, premature labor, and premature births are a higher risk with smoking pregnant patients. With neonatal intensive care bills often exceeding $2,000 a day for a single premature baby, the costs to our country become unfathomable.
Smoking has been found to be a risk factor in sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). And allergies in children exposed to cigarette smoke are much greater than those of children not exposed to smoke in the home or in the car.
In spite of all this, 26 percent of women of reproductive age choose to smoke, and nearly a third of them continue to do so during pregnancy. But it may not be entirely their fault. Smoking is a very tough addiction. When I talk with internists and perinatalogists, I hear smoking referred to as being as addictive as heroin and cocaine.
With over 2,000 different chemicals in tobacco smoke, not one of them is nutritious or enriching for you, your baby, your family, your gender, or the generations to come. If you're a smoker, please speak with your healthcare provider about healthy, safe ways to stop this dangerous practice.
All is well and by for now
Jenna at the age of 3
5 comments:
Hey Dad, thanks for all the support. I haven't had a cigarette in 2 days and I feel like I'm going nuts.
I have learned today is to try to stay away from the things and places that you usually smoke. When I take a bath,I like to read and have a cigarette. I haven't read in the bath since. Also I like to smoke while I drive. Today was the first time I got in my car in three days. I had to call Dennis before I got to PetSmart because my friends and I usually have a smoke together. That helped. No smoking and my friends understood.
Dennis is trying to quit too. He has learned that even smoking outside away from me is not helping me and I know what he's up to. Then, I want one,too. So we are now working as a team.
I'm keeping myself around the kids too. They want me to quit too. Doesn't it suck when your kids are smarter than you. What makes it worse, we were once in their shoes, and we still screw up.
I'm taking 1 hour at a time. Minutes are easy. Day is still to hard. Every hour or 2 seems to work for me and then the days over. One day gone and here we go again. I know its not going to be easy. I'm just waiting for the day when it is not a part of my routine and not a part of my life.
Hi Jenna - just try to make it through today, I've always found Day 3 is the hardest physicially, regarding withdrawal from nicotine. My history of quitting isn't the greatest - I smoked on and off for 30 years, but now it's been over 9 years since I've had a cigarette. You have to stay away from friends who smoke. Take showers instead of baths, don't worry about putting on weight - you're pregnant, this is the time to put on weight.
All the best,
MYS/uc
Good luck in quitting Jenna! I hope you find success.
I am not the best person in the world to give advise about quiting smoking, but this is such an awesome idea that I had to share it with you!
Get a jar. Put every penny that you would have spent on smokes into the jar. If you used to smoke a pack a day - put that money into the jar.
As you go along through the quiting process count the money and start planning on how you'll treat yourself with it when you no longer want to smoke!
Smoking is expensive! You'll be so surprised at how much money you'll find in the jar a few months from now and planning on what you'll do with it will give you an extra treat for quiting!
You Can Not Cheat On The Money Though! Every penny that you would have spent on smokes has to go into the jar!
Good Luck Jenna :) You Can Do It!!!!
Thank you so much everyone. And thank you for the great ideas. Thank God I have so much support at home and from my family.
I have no problem gaining the weight. I have never been on a diet and never plan on it. It is just a way to mess with your body's chemistry. Healthy eating is the best way to do it, but I suck at that too.
At least I'm not drinking that much soda.(it always caffeine free.) and no more coffee (yikes mt favorite), but Im drinking a lot of juice.
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