Protecting your baby from tobacco smoke is one of the best things you can do, for your unborn
child’s benefit. It can be difficult to stop smoking, but it’s never too late to quit.
Every cigarette you smoke contains thousands of chemicals, many of which are dangerous, so
smoking when you are pregnant harms your unborn baby. Cigarettes can restrict the essential
oxygen supply to your baby. As a result, their heart must beat harder every time you smoke.
What are the benefits of stopping in pregnancy
Harmful gases, such as carbon monoxide, and other damaging chemicals will clear from your
body.
When you stop smoking:
you will reduce the risk of complications in pregnancy and birth
you are more likely to have a healthier pregnancy and a healthier baby
you will reduce the risk of stillbirth
your baby is less likely to be born too early and have breathing, feeding and health
problems that often go with being premature
Less likely to have problems keeping warm and are more likely to get infections
Stopping smoking now will also help your baby later in life. Children whose parents smoke are
more likely to suffer from asthma and other serious illnesses that may need hospital treatment.
The sooner you stop smoking, the better. But even if you stop in the last few weeks of your
pregnancy this will benefit you and your baby.
Passive smoking
If your partner or anyone else who lives with you smokes, their smoke can affect you and your
baby before and after their birth.
Passive smoke can also reduce your baby’s birthweight and increase the risk of sudden infant
death syndrome (SIDS). Babies whose parents smoke are more likely to be admitted to hospital
for bronchitis and pneumonia during their first year.
Nicotine replacement therapy
You can use nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) during pregnancy if it will help you stop
smoking and you’re unable to stop without it. Stop smoking tablets such as varenicline or
bupropion (Zyban) are not recommended during pregnancy.
NRT contains only nicotine and none of the damaging chemicals found in cigarettes, so it is a
much better option than continuing to smoke. It helps you by giving you the nicotine you would
have had from a cigarette.
NRT is available as:
patches
gum
inhalator
nasal spray
mouth spray
oral strips
lozenges
microtabs
If you have pregnancy-related nausea and vomiting, patches may be a better solution.
NRT patches should be used for no more than 16 hours in any 24-hour period. The best way to
remember this is to remove the patch at bedtime.
By getting this specialist advice you can be sure that you’re doing the best for your baby and for
you.
E-cigarettes in pregnancy
E-cigarettes are fairly new and there are still some things we do not know. However, current
evidence on e-cigarettes indicates they are much less risky than smoking.
Cigarettes deliver nicotine along with thousands of harmful chemicals. E-cigarettes allow you to
inhale nicotine through a vapour rather than smoke. By itself, nicotine is relatively harmless.
E-cigarettes do not produce tar or carbon monoxide, the 2 main toxins in cigarette smoke.
Carbon monoxide is particularly harmful to developing babies. The vapour from an e-cigarette
does contain some of the potentially harmful chemicals found in cigarette smoke, but at much
lower levels.
If using an e-cigarette helps you to stop smoking, it is much safer for you and your baby than
continuing to smoke.
For more information, book an appointment and speak to Doctor Siveregi at 0226340294
