Effects of Smoking on the Unborn Baby
Just about everyone knows that it is important to stop smoking when you are pregnant. This is not only true for when you find out that you are pregnant, but you should also quit smoking if you think that you may become pregnant. There are many reasons for this, and while it is commonly known that you should not smoke, many women do not know exactly why. Some women still smoke while they are pregnant, and most of them probably do not know the effects that it can have on their unborn baby. If you are trying to conceive, it is very important that you consider this and stop smoking before you become pregnant. If you are already pregnant and still smoking, then maybe this will shed some light on why you should quit. If you cannot do it for yourself, then you can at least do it for the unborn baby.
First of all, many women who smoke during pregnancy end up having miscarriages. This can be something that happens very early on in the pregnancy, or it can happen later on. Either way, this is something that is very emotionally challenging for women to deal with. If you are a smoker and have a miscarriage, then it is easy to blame yourself for losing the baby. This is something that you will deal with the rest of your life. Instead, do not risk it. Stop smoking before you even get to that point.
Another effect that it can have on the baby is that there are lots of different complications that can occur. You can cause the placenta to rupture or even detach from the baby. This can be very detrimental to the pregnancy and causes some very serious side effects. You can even have preterm labor due to this. The thing is, it is avoidable if you will stop smoking.
Smokers also have a high risk to have tubal, or ectopic, pregnancies. This can be life threatening for the mother. There is no way that the baby will be able to survive this type of pregnancy. So instead of putting your unborn child at risk, you should just heed the warnings that are given by the surgeon general and just not smoke. After all, you will see that it can have a huge impact on both you and the baby.
Aside from these other complications, you also have to look at the risk of certain types of birth defects. Birth defects can be life threatening, and can cause the baby to be made fun of later in life. To smoke and risk this is actually very selfish of a mother. Some birth defects cannot be avoided and naturally happen, but there is no reason to allow smoking to be attributed to it.
Low birth weight is another big effect that can be seen in babies that are born to smokers. You will see that this can cause a variety of different risks to the baby. Usually, babies that are born at lower birth weights end up having higher risks of dying during childhood. This is sad, but true.
There are also the risks of stillbirth. This is where the baby is born nearly full term but it not alive when he or she is delivered. This is a very traumatic experience for the families that are involved. On top of this, being probably the most severe of the risks, you will find that SIDS is commonly occurring in babies of smokers. These are two really severe effects to the babies of women who smoke.
As you can see, smoking is not a good thing for pregnant women to do. It is also not good for the father to smoke either. It can affect the baby as well. You should really do everything in your might to stop smoking before you become pregnant if you want to have a healthy pregnancy that results in a healthy and happy baby boy or girl. Instead of risking all of these horrible risks to the baby, the best thing to do is just drop the habit while you can before it causes any damage.