Does smoking affect pregnancy? The answer to this question has long been known - of course, yes. And only negatively. The body of the most pregnant woman suffers, and the embryo at the earliest stages of development, and the fetus, and the already born child. The consequences of smoking during pregnancy do not always appear immediately, but the likelihood of any deviations and the occurrence of serious diseases in the child is very high. It is very sad that children have to pay for the bad habits of their parents with their own health.

It is highly undesirable to smoke not only constantly, but also from time to time, and also to become a passive smoker.

How smoking affects future pregnancy

Statistics show that more than 20% of women in Russia smoke. Moreover, a greater number of smokers are young women under thirty years of age, respectively, who are of fertile age. And since not everyone plans a pregnancy in advance, very often in the first, most important days of intrauterine development, the embryo is exposed to the negative effects of smoking.

In addition, in the case of parents who smoke, conception itself is already at risk. There are statistics showing that smokers are diagnosed with infertility one and a half times more often. Therefore, when asking the question whether smoking has a strong effect on pregnancy and its probability in general, doctors answer that it is strong. And the probability of its occurrence can significantly reduce, and negatively affect the development of the embryo.

The number of men who smoke is even higher, and many of them are potential future fathers living with their partners. It is important to know that passive smoking is no better and does no less harm. And in male smokers, sperm quality suffers greatly due to exposure to nicotine, which also does not contribute to rapid fertilization.

You need to quit smoking at least six months before the planned pregnancy - in this case, the probability of its onset, as a rule, becomes the same as that of non-smokers.

IMPORTANT: Smoking can greatly reduce your chances of getting pregnant and even lead to infertility.

How smoking affects early pregnancy

In the early stages of pregnancy, the embryo develops rapidly - the cells are actively dividing, the foundation is laid for all organs and systems of the unborn baby. Scientists have found that smoking can cause mutations in a child's DNA.

Moreover, it was revealed that those areas that are responsible for pathologies and diseases of the nervous system and lungs have been changed; abnormal development of the nasopharynx - "cleft lip" and "cleft palate"; the likelihood of developing cancer.

There have been many studies on how smoking affects pregnancy. The results are not encouraging. In the early stages, the probability of miscarriage is very high, and in women who smoke it increases many times over. In addition, the placenta, which is just beginning to develop, can change its structure, its volume and shape are significantly reduced, and the blood flow in it is disturbed.

Pregnancy fading at an early stage is more common in women who smoke. There are also statistics regarding the birth of children with heart disease. Smoking, among others, is an unfavorable factor contributing to the occurrence of this disorder.

How smoking during pregnancy affects can be understood by looking at the same composition of cigarette smoke. There is nothing in it that would be a log for an unborn child, but there are at least two extremely dangerous substances - nicotine and carbon monoxide. Not to mention those components that can cause cancer. Nicotine can cause a lack of oxygen by constricting blood vessels, including the placenta.

IMPORTANT: Smoking in the early stages can lead to serious developmental disorders and many pathologies, including the central nervous system.

How smoking affects the fetus during pregnancy

One of the biggest dangers that awaits a baby who has not yet been born to a smoker is oxygen starvation. Oxygen, which is transmitted to the baby through the umbilical cord and placenta, in the case of a mother smoking, can be sorely lacking. The fetus literally suffocates, which can even lead to miscarriage or seriously affect the health of the newborn. Chronic lack of oxygen causes irreversible changes, leading to significant developmental disorders.

There are studies by American scientists on how smoking affects the 15th week of pregnancy. Interestingly, this period is a kind of guideline - if a woman does not quit smoking before this moment, her risk of giving birth prematurely increases several times. And it is far from certain that in this case the child will survive, since premature babies born no earlier than 22 weeks are nursed, and even then not all of these attempts are successful. And even if the child is born full-term, children with reduced weight are not uncommon for smokers often suffering from cerebral palsy and developmental delay.

If we talk about later dates, for example, about how smoking affects the 32nd week of pregnancy, then the forecasts are not encouraging either. One of the real dangers is premature aging of the placenta.

We must not forget that the children of mothers who smoke during pregnancy may experience serious problems in the future. For example, according to research by specialists from the UK, such children are more likely to be obese and have behavioral problems. And this is far from the worst. The consequences of exposure to nicotine on the fetus are irreversible - it changes the functioning of nerve cells, and this leads to the development of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, hyperactivity, chronic tic disorders (including Tourette's syndrome) in children.

Need to know: Research by scientists at Columbia University has shown that maternal smoking increases the risk of schizophrenia in a child.

IMPORTANT: smoking can cause miscarriage, preterm labor and increases the chance of having an underweight baby.

How smoking affects the body during pregnancy

In addition to the fact that smoking poisons the unborn baby, it also causes significant damage to the health of the expectant mother. Harmful substances contained in cigarette smoke enter the body, are absorbed into the blood and disrupt the functioning of blood vessels, heart, lungs and immune system.

Smoking has a negative effect on both men and women, but this effect is especially strong on the female body. Scientists suggest that the uterine mucosa contains certain substances that “attract” nicotine and the product of its processing by the liver - cotinine. These poisons accumulate there, significantly increasing the likelihood of cervical cancer.

A lot of information has been collected about how alcohol and smoking affect pregnancy. All of them indicate that the impact is extremely negative. Women, and especially those planning to have children, are better off not starting smoking, or getting rid of this addiction long before pregnancy. Many serious pathologies and health problems, as well as tragedies associated with the death of babies, could have been avoided if mothers thought more about their own health and the health of their unborn children.

No mother wants a future for her child that is full of illness and related problems. Meanwhile, there are studies on whether smoking during pregnancy affects the fact that in the future the child himself will become a heavy smoker. And they confirm it.

IMPORTANT: A woman needs to stop smoking and avoid places where smokers gather long before the planned pregnancy in order to maintain both her health and the health of her unborn baby.

If no reasonable arguments, including fear for the child, can force a woman to stop smoking, and also convey to others what harm they cause to an unborn baby, forcing a pregnant woman to breathe smoke, then it makes sense to contact a qualified specialist.

The negative impact of smoking on pregnancy and the fetus has been proven for a long time. Not a single doctor will ever say that smoking during pregnancy is allowed if you really want to. There are simply no ways to minimize the risks of smoking, just as there is no harmless dose. Currently, the number of women who smoke during pregnancy has decreased by 20%. And this is a good trend.

Smoking in an interesting position is dangerous for a woman with a strong load on the heart, deterioration of the blood vessels, and changes in blood pressure. In addition, oxygen saturation decreases, which negatively affects reproductive function.

In the first trimester, a woman who smokes is more likely to abortion and bleeding, toxicosis will be more pronounced. At a later date, premature birth is possible. And infant mortality occurs in thirty percent of cases.

The bad effect of cigarettes on pregnancy is primarily due to significant deviations in the formation of the placenta, in other words, presentation is a position in which the membranes of the fetus cannot hold the fetus at a later date. In this state, high chance of having a premature baby. There is also a risk of placental rejection, and this is life-threatening for both mother and child.

Doctors say that smoking during pregnancy can lead to rupture of the membranes.

The harm of smoking on the unborn baby is stronger than on the expectant mother. Since the mother's blood circulation is disturbed, hypoxia is inevitable for the baby. Normal development of the fetus is impossible due to oxygen starvation. At the same time, the probability of the formation of various congenital malformations is high.

Due to the negative effects of nicotine there are serious violations during the formation of the nervous system of the crumbs. In the future, this may result in causeless crying, poor and disturbing sleep, and aggression.

Tobacco negatively affects the baby's heart. Heart disease is in the first place among birth defects of babies whose mothers smoked during pregnancy.

The harmful effects of nicotine several times increase the risk of developing fetal growth retardation syndrome. Almost all smokers during the gestation period have children with this syndrome. Possible degrees of development of FGR:

• Decrease in the weight of the child (on average by 200 g).
• Sometimes there is a symmetrical lag in height and weight, but in this case there is general immaturity at birth.
• A newborn gets less than eight points on the Apgar scale. Usually there is a pronounced pallor of the skin, a weak cry and insufficient reflexes.
• Stillbirth is the most severe consequence of this syndrome. Due to impaired blood flow, the death of the child occurs in the later stages.

Smoking is bad for the baby and after childbirth. If a woman pulled herself together and did not smoke for nine months, and after giving birth she again took up a cigarette, then she also poisons the baby with tobacco poison, as if she had smoked during pregnancy. Chemistry and carcinogens enter breast milk, and together with milk poison the body of a newborn.

It has been scientifically proven that women who smoke children are born with nicotine addiction or predisposed to smoking.

Quit smoking or not

Of course, if a woman finds out that she is in an interesting position, then she should give up cigarettes as soon as possible. There is no harmless norm of nicotine in nature.

Just one cigarette a day does great harm both the expectant mother and the unborn baby.

Quitting cigarettes during pregnancy is not harmful. This will put less stress on the body than smoking itself.

If conception has already occurred, and the woman has not yet quit smoking, then it is better to do this in the near future in order to protect the unborn child from the harmful effects of pesticides. In order to make the process of quitting cigarettes as easy as possible, it is best to adhere to the following rules:

Experts say that pregnant women much more likely to quit smoking than their other half. This is due to the fact that the lifestyle of a pregnant woman changes a lot. She stops attending public places and events where there is a lot of smoking, stops drinking alcohol and coffee. All this makes it possible to forget about a bad habit and it is easier to quit smoking.

If the expectant mother understands all the harm that causes the baby, and stops smoking before the moment when the neural tube of the fetus is formed (up to fourteen weeks), then she has every chance give birth to a strong and healthy baby.

When asked whether it is possible to smoke during pregnancy and how smoking affects embryonic development, not a single doctor will answer you: you can, if you want. And will not advise a "safe dose" or "special way" how to minimize the risk. There are simply no such ways. And this should be taken into account if, after leaving the obstetrician's office, you again reach into your pocket for another cigarette.

Why smoking is dangerous for a future mother

• Pregnancy and smoking can only be compatible if you are not initially determined to endure and give birth to a child at all. The harm of smoking during pregnancy is not only a violation of the mother's heart, a pronounced chronic vasoconstriction, causing jumps in blood pressure and a decrease in blood flow to the heart, and a decrease in the saturation of blood cells with oxygen. But also in a direct effect on the reproductive system and the embryo itself.
• Smoking in early pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage and uterine bleeding. With the tendency of the body to toxicosis, its manifestations will be more pronounced.
• In the later stages, the habit increases the risk of preterm birth. Infant mortality in this case is 30%.

• The formation of the placenta occurs with violations. A frequent manifestation of maternal malformation is the occurrence of placenta previa - a condition in which the membranes of the fetus are not able to keep the baby in themselves in the later stages. Presentation is always a risk of premature, sudden delivery of a premature baby.
• Possible placental rejection- a condition dangerous to the life of the mother and child.
• Smoking during pregnancy, according to doctors, is a factor in stimulating rupture of the fetal bladder long before the birth of the child, which also threatens the life of the baby and mother.

What is the danger of smoking for a child

The effect of tobacco on the fetus during pregnancy is even more significant than on the mother's body.

• Due to circulatory disorders in the mother's body, the child suffers from hypoxia. The lack of oxygen excludes its normal development, forming intrauterine malformations of the brain and internal organs. Babies are born premature, weak.
• Nicotine disrupts the correct course of the formation of the child's nervous system. In the future, this is manifested by mental defects: unreasonable crying, sleep disturbances, and a little later - uncontrolled aggression.
• Tobacco poisons provoke heart disease. The most common disease among children born to smoking mothers is heart disease.
• The danger of smoking persists even after the birth of a child. Therefore, having endured as much as 9 months without a cigarette, you cannot return to an addiction if you do not want to poison your child from infancy. Smoking while breastfeeding fills the baby's body with the same poisons that come to you. Only your "lethal dose" is much more than the volume sufficient for the strongest poisoning of a newborn.

Whether to quit smoking?

Once you've become aware of how smoking affects pregnancy, this question doesn't seem to make sense. But still it is worth clarifying.

• Yes! This must be done and as soon as possible! Even if you smoked before pregnancy and suddenly found out about the “interesting situation”, immediately give up the addiction.
• There is no safe dose of nicotine. Even "a couple" of cigarettes a day worsens the health of your baby and introduces complications during pregnancy.
• Quitting smoking while in position is not dangerous. This will cause much less "stress" than the process itself for the body.

How to quit smoking for a pregnant woman?

1. Set a clear motivation: you need it! After all, you want more than anything to have a healthy baby. And cigarettes do not go to any comparison with your main life values.
2. Do not use nicotine preparations. Nicotine patches and sprays are a poison that is not suitable for solving the problem of how to quit smoking during pregnancy. If you are not confident in your abilities, refer to psycho- and manual therapy. The most gentle methods that do not have a drug effect are acupuncture and hypnosis. They form a psychological rejection of the habit. But without a clear motivation, they will be powerless.
3. Do not stretch the "pleasure". Quit in a moment, just now! It will not cause any stress and unexpected reaction. What's more, in just a few hours, your body will begin to cleanse itself. You will notice this within a few months.

Narcologists believe that expectant mothers are much more likely to part with cigarettes than, for example, their spouses. After all, a woman's life is changing radically. She stops visiting smoky bars, avoids corporate parties, and does not drink alcohol and coffee. All this leads to a violation of stereotypes, habits of "smoking". And it allows you to forget about harmful cravings, like a bad dream.

The harm from smoking, even for women who are not pregnant, does not require additional argumentation. We have all heard about the main disadvantages of a smoker - yellow teeth, bad breath, earthy skin tone ... Smoking is a habit, perhaps even a disease. What are the dangers of smoking early in the 1st trimester of pregnancy?

Smoking and the fetus: risks for the unborn child

In the first trimester of pregnancy, the nervous system of your unborn baby develops especially actively, and the primary formation of all its internal organs occurs. The vasospasm that occurs when you inhale a cigarette can cause oxygen starvation. In this case, the developing cells of the fetus do not receive sufficient nutrition, which can cause their abnormal development. Hyperactivity and hyperattention syndrome are the most harmless deviations of the nervous system, the blame for which often falls on smoking in early pregnancy.

There is a debate among expectant mothers about how to quit smoking in early pregnancy and is it necessary at all? Of course you need to, the risk from smoking is many times greater than the danger from the stress associated with the quitting process. True, this process itself should be the least painless for the expectant mother. Only women with phenomenal willpower can afford a sharp cessation of smoking, while the rest should gradually reduce the number of cigarettes smoked per day up to one and the subsequent absolute refusal. Toxicosis of the first trimester helps many in this matter - the expectant mother herself cannot smoke normally, as she experiences nausea from the taste and smell of cigarettes.

Research Finds: The Harm of Smoking Is Reversible

The British Medical Journal published the results of a study of the reversibility of the harmful effects of smoking on the fetus in the event of early smoking cessation. They made it possible to find out that in women who broke up with a bad habit before, the risk of preterm labor or the birth of an underweight child corresponds to the risk of women who have never smoked. In addition, we managed to find out that quitting smoking, regardless of the period (be it at least 32 weeks), still improves the outcome of pregnancy.

Planning a child is a responsible process that should include limiting smoking and drinking alcohol. But if you had to deal with the problem of quitting smoking in early pregnancy, no one can help you better than a doctor. It is he who will develop the ideal program, strictly adhering to which, it will be possible to minimize not only the harm from smoking, but also the risks associated with giving up this addiction.