Every Puff Harms

By Roa Altaweli, Saudi National, Midwifery Student | Contribution to Saudi Life

Every Puff Harms the Unborn Baby

Cigarettes contain over 4,000 chemicals. Every single cigarette a woman smokes in pregnancy harms the unborn baby. The toxins from smoking restrict the essential oxygen supply to the baby requiring their heart to beat harder every time she smokes.

Protecting your baby from tobacco smoke is one of the best things you can do to give your child a healthy start in life. It's never too late to stop smoking!

Risks to the Pregnancy

Smoking during pregnancy carries increased risks of complications. There are strong links to:

1. Placenta Previa (placenta too close to, or covering the opening of the womb)
2. Abruptio Placenta (detachment of the placenta from the womb before birth)
3. Ectopic Pregnancy (the fertilized egg implants outside the womb)¹
4. PROM (Premature Rupture of Membrane-the water breaks before labor)
5. Prematurity (baby born before it is able to thrive on its own)
6. Spontaneous Abortion (miscarriage/loss of baby)

Risks to the Unborn Baby

Smoking during pregnancy impairs normal foetal growth and development resulting in an increased incidence of:

1. Low Birth Weight
2. Preterm Birth (birth before full gestation)
3. Still Birth (baby dead at birth)
4. Intra Uterine Growth Restriction (IUGR),
5. Infant Respiratory Infections (bronchitis, asthma, colds, pneumonia)
6. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS or cot death)

Read the whole article on Saudi Life web site.