The news that you have to forego your cigarettes for nine months is devastating, especially if you’re used to a few sticks per day. However, tobacco smoking during pregnancy endangers both your life and that of your baby.
So, how do you stay that long without smoking? How does tobacco affect your unborn baby? When can you resume smoking?
Effects of smoking when pregnant
- As you inhale the carbon monoxide, you and your baby will not have sufficient oxygen. Know that your unborn child gets oxygen and other nutrients from you through the placenta.
- Moms who smoke have a higher chance of miscarriage. If that doesn’t happen, they give birth to preterm and underweight babies. Some have stillbirths.
- Nicotine increases the chances of an ectopic pregnancy, which can be fatal. You may also lose your fallopian tubes in the process.
- Placenta complications. As you smoke, you’re likely to develop placenta abruption. This refers to an incident when the placenta detaches itself from the uterus before birth. The complication is life-threatening since you could bleed to death.You can also have placenta previa, a condition where the placenta covers the cervix instead of leaving it open for birth. The disease can also lead to excess bleeding.
- Your baby will develop severe respiratory diseases like asthma, which they will have to deal with throughout their lives. Remember, your unborn baby becomes a passive smoker, yet the tiny lungs cannot handle the smoke.
- Smoking mums deliver babies with congenital disabilities.
List of congenital disabilities from smoking
- Congenital heart disease
- Missing limbs
- Cleft palate
- Clubfoot
- Deformed limbs
- Gastroschisis which means that you can see part of your baby’s stomach or intestine on the skin.
- Cleft lip.
- Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Babies whose moms smoked during pregnancy have a high risk of dying suddenly in their sleep before their first birthday.
Can a smoking father harm the baby?
Perhaps you don’t smoke, but your partner does it in your presence. Can that harm the baby? Yes, second-hand smokers inhale more smoke than the person smoking. That means your partner’s cigarette will affect your unborn baby if he smokes within your reach.
As a result, you should insist that no one uses cigarettes close to you during pregnancy and close to the baby after birth.
What do you do if you’re addicted to smoking?
Let your health care provider know this at your first prenatal clinic. Please be honest. The medics will place you on therapy for nine months. Trust doctors in Kenya to offer you all the support you need throughout the pregnancy.
Take-Home
Finally, commit yourself to safeguard your baby’s health. Now that you know the effects of smoking on your unborn child resist the temptation to have another cigarette. You can also share your addiction problem with friends and family to get accountability partners. In the end, you’ll be glad that you placed your baby’s interests above your own.
