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Huffing and puffing

Most women who smoke give up when they learn that they are pregnant. Getting the rest to follow is hard. The usual approach is to tell them at their first prenatal visit that smoking is bad for the baby, encourage them to call a helpline and offer counselling...

Some women still believe, despite what they hear, that smoking will not harm their unborn child. They may have smoked during an earlier pregnancy and argue that since the older child seems fine, the younger one will be, too. Such faulty logic can be reinforced by families and peer groups…

One promising approach is paying women to quit. A recent trial in Scotland gave up to £400 ($590) in shopping vouchers for women…

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Featured

 Every cigarette matters when you’re pregnant, a massive new study confirms

Researchers still aren’t entirely sure how smoking increases SIDS risk. The study notes that evidence so far points to changes in serotonin and other neurotransmitters in the brainstem of a growing fetus, which smoking has been linked to.

Articles of Interest

Cigarette smoking during pregnancy linked to changes in baby’s immune system

The study is among the largest to show that smoking throughout pregnancy leads to changes in an infant’s immune system, even at birth.

How A Pregnant Woman's Choices Could Shape A Child's Health

Pregnant women hear a lot about things they should avoid: alcohol, tobacco, chemical exposures, stress. All of those have the potential to affect a developing fetus. And now scientists are beginning to understand why.

In Pregnancy, What's Worse? Cigarettes Or The Nicotine Patch?

But it's not clear whether her baby is better off. There are thousands of chemicals in cigarette smoke, and it would be almost impossible to figure out how each one affects a fetus. The real question, Slotkin says, is how many of the health problems seen in the offspring of smokers are due to nicotine? "And the answer is, an awful lot."

Is It OK To Pay Pregnant Women To Stop Smoking?

Women who smoke while they're pregnant are more likely to have health problems, and their babies are at risk, too. But attempts to get women to stop smoking while pregnant usually fail.

More than 8 percent of women smoke while pregnant, despite risks

Women who smoked during pregnancy did smoke fewer cigarettes as the pregnancy went on — on average, they smoked 13 cigarettes a day before becoming pregnant and 9 cigarettes a day by the third trimester.

Myths: Smoking and Pregnancy

There is no safe amount of smoking. Every puff of a cigarette releases harmful chemicals that will reach your baby and affect your health too. E-cigarettes are also not harmless. Although there is still much to learn about e-cigarettes, pregnant women should not use them. The nicotine in e-cigarettes is harmful for developing babies.

No butts about it: Pregnant women still smoke

Assuming that’s the case, doctors must do a better job of supporting women who want to quit smoking and educating them about the short- and long-term health consequences if they don’t – both to them and their babies.

Smoking for Two

My pregnant roommate keeps lighting up. Should I intervene?

Smoking for Two, and Lying About It

When pregnant women are asked if they smoke, almost a quarter of the smokers deny they have the habit.

Smoking in Pregnancy: An Ongoing Challenge

One of the most measurable effects of smoking is approximately doubling the risk of delivering a low birth weight infant.2

Smoking mothers may alter the DNA of their children

Pregnant women who smoke don't just harm the health of their baby—they may actually impair their child's DNA, according to new research. The finding may explain why the children of smokers continue to suffer health complications later in life.

The Effects of Smoking While Pregnant

What are the effects of smoking while pregnant? Well, we don’t want to go in hard on the horror stories, but smoking and pregnancy are two things that are best left unmixed.

The stunning danger of smoking while pregnant

A new study shows smoking even one cigarette per day in pregnancy doubles the risk of a newborn baby dying.

What helps women to quit smoking while pregnant?

Quitting smoking is really hard, and pregnancy comes with its own set of unique challenges. It’s no surprise then that quitting while pregnant can be very difficult, and even among women who manage it, many start to smoke again shortly after giving birth.

You smoke? … But aren’t you pregnant?

Almost six years ago was when my roller coaster with smoking and pregnancy began. After only a few months of dating my husband we found out that I was pregnant with our first. Scared, excited, stressed out, off we went to the doctors to confirm it was true. Well it was definitely true! And there was when the dreaded question began… “Do you smoke?” (Every time I went to the doctors from this point on, smoking would become a major discussion) “yes” I mumbled reluctantly.

Resources

CDC

Smoking during pregnancy can cause tissue damage in the unborn baby, particularly in the lung and brain, and some studies suggests a link between maternal smoking and cleft lip.