At week 9, only two months into pregnancy, a baby’s hands and fingers are developed. At this point the baby is only around 1.2 inches in size, and has its own faint heartbeat. Now, picture that developing baby with a cigarette between its tiny fingers. When mothers choose to smoke during their pregnancies, they might as well put cigarettes right into the hands of their unborn infants.
According to The Western Journal of Medicine, “throughout the past decade, smoking has remained the single most important modifiable cause of poor pregnancy outcome in the United States. It accounts for 20% of deliveries of infants with low birth weights, 8% of preterm births, and 5% of all perinatal deaths.”
Research done by The National Institutes of Health suggest that prenatal tobacco exposure can lead to muscle tone abnormalities, poor language development, and lower cognitive scores. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, children whose mothers smoke during pregnancy are at a greater risk of developing behavioral problems, learning disorders, and becoming smokers. Children of smokers are also more likely to develop ear infections, bronchitis, and pneumonia.
If pregnant mothers are struggling to quit smoking they should reach out for help. Smoking cessation programs, such as Baby&Me and SmokeFree Women, provide pregnant mothers with counseling sessions and other tools and tips to help them through the quitting process.
Content for this segment was created by Loren Foppe as part of a project for SC301: Foundations of Health Communication, taught by Ms. Clubbs.
Resources:
Cornelius, M. & Day, N. (n.d.). The effects of tobacco use during and after pregnancy on exposed children. Retrieved from https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh24-4/242-249.pdf
Orleans, C. T., Johnson, R. W., Barker, D. C., Kaufman, N. J., & Marx, J. F. (2001). Helping pregnant smokers quit: Meeting the challenge in the next decade. Western Journal of Medicine, 174(4), 276–281.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2012, October 1). Tobacco use and pregnancy. Retrieved from https://betobaccofree.hhs.gov/health-effects/pregnancy/index.html
http://www.babyandmetobaccofree.org/about-us/
http://women.smokefree.gov/
