Pregnancy and Tobacco

Smoking can make it more difficult to get pregnant, cause complications during pregnancy and pose serious health risks for the baby after it is born.

• Cigarette smoking during pregnancy is associated with the following health problems:
  • pregnancy complications
  • preterm delivery
  • low birth weight infants
  • still birth
  • sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
• Babies whose mothers smoke while pregnant have weaker lungs than other babies.
• Nicotine may cause constrictions in blood vessels to the umbilical cord and uterus, which decreases the amount of oxygen available to the fetus.
• Only about 30 percent of women who smoke stop smoking when they find out they are pregnant.

References

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2006. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/sgr/2006/index.htm

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Smoking and Tobacco Use: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, CDC, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health; 2004.

This information has been approved by Amy Lukowski, PsyD (October 2010).