Is smoking/tobacco use during pregnancy harmful?
A woman who smokes takes in poisons such as nicotine and carbon monoxide (the same gas that comes out of a car’s exhaust pipe). These poisons get into the placenta, which is the tissue that connects the mother and the baby before it is born. These poisons keep a fetus from getting the food and oxygen it needs to grow. Smoking is associated with pregnancy complications, early menopause, and reduced fertility. Women who smoke during pregnancy increase the risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, premature delivery, low birth weight babies, ectopic pregnancies (implanting of the embryo outside of the uterus), and infant death. Tobacco use during pregnancy slows the growth of a fetus, especially in women who smoke more than 1 pack per day. Infants are also more likely to die from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (crib-death) if their mothers smoke. Second-hand smoke from other people also affects a pregnant woman and her fetus. For more information on smoking, click here.
