Child Health A-Z

Smoking and Pregnancy

The risks involved with smoking during pregnancy:

Although fewer women are smoking during their pregnancy now than ever before, the habit still persists among many women. In addition, even if a pregnant woman does not smoke, she may be exposed to secondhand smoke in the household, workplace, or in social settings.

Smoke can be damaging to a fetus in several ways, and may cause the following:

low birthweight
preterm birth
stillbirths
increased risk of birth defects

Subsequently, babies born to smokers may also have the following problems:

poor lung development
asthma and respiratory infections
increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
physical growth deficiency
intellectual development deficiency
behavioral problems

The mother, too, may experience problems during her pregnancy as a result of smoking, including, but not limited to, the following:

placental complications
preterm labor
infections in the uterus

Researchers believe the effects of carbon monoxide (which reduces oxygen in the blood) and nicotine (which stimulates certain hormones) cause many of these adverse effects.

However, according to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), if a woman quits smoking early in her pregnancy, she increases her chance of delivering a healthy baby.

Last Update
February 3, 2008

top