Smoking has adverse effects on one’s health. And, when pregnant, smoking may lead to different types of health complications not only in the mother but also in the baby.  Cigarettes contain carbon monoxide, nicotine and other poisonous elements that are carried to the foetus through the blood stream when you smoke during the gestation period.

Complications during Pregnancy

Complications that may occur when pregnant women indulge in smoking:

• Ectopic pregnancy, wherein the foetus is conceived outside the uterus i.e., in the fallopian tube.
• More chances of miscarriage.
• Stillbirth may occur.
• Abruption of the placenta resulting in premature delivery.
• Rupture of Membranes.

Effects on Babies

Health problems the baby faces when a woman smokes during pregnancy :

• Reduction in the supply of oxygen to the baby due to nicotine and carbon monoxide travelling to the baby’s body.
• Baby’s growth and development gets slower.
• Smoking may increase the chance of your baby being born with cleft palate and cleft lip.
• Increased risk of respiratory problems in the baby.
• Babies are likely to have defects of the heart.
• Increased risk of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome).
• Lower birth weight of the baby.
• Baby is more vulnerable to asthma.
• Increased chances of premature birth and death of the baby.
• Increased chances of obesity in the later part of the baby’s life.

Images Courtesy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoKLTGaED1I

http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/birthdefects/cleftlip.html