Smoking and Pregnancy

Filed in archive Pregnancy on February 9, 2007

Are you pregnant? Do you smoke? We all know that smoking is a danger to the health. It can cause all sorts of problems, like bronchitis, emphysema and lung cancer.

Smoking is addictive. I've heard that addiction to nicotine is harder to kick than addiction to heroine. I used to smoke. I quit several years ago, and it wasn't easy.

The bad news is that the cigarette you're lighting is causing an addiction, not only for you, but also for the baby you're carrying. An article in IndyStar.com warns:

Mothers who smoke during pregnancy may cause their children who smoke to have a tougher time quitting the habit, according to animal studies done by Duke University Medical Center researchers.

Scientists found in research on rodents that the long-known alterations in the brain caused by prenatal exposure to nicotine also program the brain for relapse to nicotine addiction, said Edward Levin, a professor of biological psychiatry.

The Pregnancy Weekly Blog has more on smoking during pregnancy, including this:

For a pregnant woman, smoking is extremely dangerous to her. The toxic and poisons will directly channel to your unborn child.