Everyone knows that smoking is a harmful habit. But it is particularly abysmal when the smoker is a pregnant woman. Cigarettes contain a cocktail of dangers, toxic compounds like nicotine, carbon monoxide and tar. By smoking, the woman jeopardises not only her health but also that of her innocent unborn. It’s the most irresponsible thing a mother could do.

Exposure to tobacco smoke during pregnancy upsets the equilibrium of the oxidant and antioxidant system, and alters the genes of the mother and child and increasing their risk for dangerous diseases. In addition to this, smoking-induced damage can show up at any time in the child’s life. That’s why it’s a public health priority to discourage pregnant women from smoking. Here are some of the horrible health outcomes.

Infertility

Smoking makes it difficult for women to get pregnant in the first place. The nicotine in the tobacco impairs female fertility by affecting ovarian functions. Several studies have confirmed the deleterious effects of smoking and reduced fertility in women.

Pregnancy Complications

Even if you get pregnant, smoking during pregnancy increases complications such as stillbirths and miscarriages. According to Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), women who smoke during pregnancy are more likely to miscarry than those who don’t.

Placental Problems

The placenta is the foetus’ source of oxygen and nutrition. According to CDC, smoking during pregnancy can cause problems with the placenta. This aberration could impair your child’s growth in the womb, cause stress on the baby’s heart and even make the labour difficult. In some cases, the placenta can separate from the womb too early, causing excessive bleeding, which can put both the mother’s and child’s health at risk.

Premature Births

Smoking during pregnancy is linked to preterm births, which may not be good for the baby’s overall health. Preterm births are linked to breathing problems, feeding difficulties, cerebral palsy, developmental delays, vision problems and hearing problems in the children.

Low Birth Weight

Growth retardation of the child inside the womb is the most important side effect of smoking during pregnancy. There’s always the risk of low birth weight if the mother smoked during her pregnancy. A light-weight baby is at risk of being sick and may have to stay in the hospital longer than regular children. Some low birth weight babies may even perish before time.

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or SIDS, as the name suggests, is when the child dies without any apparent cause before it reaches the age of one. Smoking during pregnancy is one of the factors that increase the risk of SIDS.

Birth Defects

Babies born to mothers who smoke are at the increased risk of developing congenital disabilities. A 2011 study says that the ladies who smoke while they are pregnant increase the risk of their child being born with serious congenital disabilities like cleft lip, cleft palate, skull defects, club foot, missing limbs and gastrointestinal defects by 50 percent.

Heart Diseases

Mothers who smoke during pregnancy are also setting the stage for congenital heart defects in their children. Studies show a positive correlation between maternal smoking during pregnancy and high risk of heart defects in children.

Hypertension and Kidney Diseases

Smoking during pregnancy can affect the child’s kidney development. This could predispose the child to a lifetime of kidney-related ailments and high blood pressure or hypertension in adult life.

Lung Diseases

A US-based study has shown the smoking during pregnancy is linked with decreased lung functions in the child in later life. Such a problem may increase instances of hospitalisation in youth and decreased lung function in later life. It also puts the child’s life in danger since it can increase chances of near-fatal respiratory infections.

Poor Cognitive Functions

Maternal smoking during pregnancy can affect the child’s brain development. This translates to reduced cognitive functions and diminished motor skills. Such children go on to face a lot of learning-related problems such as impaired general reasoning, visual-motor integration, linguistic competence and language comprehension. They are also less likely to excel in subjects like math.

Obesity

Multiple studies have proved that smoking during pregnancy can harm the linear growth of the child, promoting high body mass index, increasing their risk of obesity in childhood and adult life. In addition to this, it can also affect the height of the child.

Although most women know about the dangers of smoking during pregnancy, many women continue to do so without any regards to their child’s health. The truth is that with even one day of not smoking, your child gets more oxygen and nutrition. Imagine the difference you could make to your child’s health if you didn’t smoke throughout the term. As a parent, it is your biggest responsibility to ensure the health of your child at all costs. By saying no to tobacco during pregnancy, you can make a world of difference to your little one’s health.

(References: Smoking and Pregnancy — A Review on the First Major Environmental Risk Factor of the Unborn, Center for Diseases Control and Prevention)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 29, 2018 07:41 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).