How Are Unborn Babies Affected?
Smoking is known to have an effect on babies before they are born. Nicotine, carbon monoxide and other chemicals in tobacco smoke are passed on to the baby through the placenta. Nicotine increases a baby’s heart rate and breathing movements. Some of the chemicals passed on through the mother’s blood are known to cause cancer. During pregnancy, smokers have a greater risk of miscarriages. During the birth, they are more likely to have complications. The chances of a baby’s dying at birth or shortly thereafter are increased if the mother has smoked during pregnancy. Babies of women who smoked or were exposed to second-hand tobacco smoke during pregnancy are, on average, smaller at birth than babies of non-smoking mothers. Smoking mothers give birth to infants who weigh about 150 grams less at term than non-smokers. Babies born with a lower-than-average birth weight are more likely to get infections and have other health problems. A clear relationship exists between the number of cigarett
