If you are smoking during your pregnancy period, you are not affecting yourself entirely but your new born child is likely to be affected.
Too many complications are viewed by the child specialists or that of a pediatrician when the child is about to take birth with the mother having smoking and drinking habit. Sometimes babies are also born too small due to the side effects of smoking and drinking.
Even there are cases when babies die inside the womb of the mother who constantly smokes and drinks alcohol.
It will be better for both the child and mother if the pregnant ladies with the habit of smoking and drinking can stop the habit for some time.
Danger of smoking to child
It has been proven by the researchers that more than 4,000 chemicals are present in a cigarette which can be really nasty to your child who has not yet faced the earth.
Several health conditions of the new born baby can be treated with medicines and other procedure but if the mother is constantly drinking hard drinks, no one can save the child inside the womb.
The chemicals of the cigarette include more than 60% of cancer causing compounds.
When the lady smokes during the pregnancy period the toxic associated with the cigarette will get inside the bloodstream of the pregnant lady.
Since the bloodstream is the place from where your baby gets oxygen, it will be really alarming the only source of oxygen nutrients of the baby will be disrupted.
Harmful chemicals
Among the variety of chemicals present in the cigarette, the most harmful two chemicals for your baby will be carbon monoxide as well as the nicotine.
All the complications in the pregnancy take place due to these two chemicals present in the bloodstream of the lady who consumes cigarette as well as drinks alcohol during their pregnancy period.
Complications
Scientists have discovered the most severe complications during the pregnancy period are low birth weight of child, stillbirth and premature delivery.
Both carbon monoxide as well as nicotine acts together to reduce the oxygen supply of your baby from the blood vessel by narrowing the same.
Also the oxygen present in the umbilical cord of the baby will be affected by these chemicals present in cigarettes.
Your baby will get no option rather than breathing through the narrow straw. Even the red blood cells become adapted to the situation and picks up the molecules of carbon monoxide instead of oxygen.
Effect of smoking on the baby
Your baby will face lot of difficulties starting from day one of its existence inside mother’s womb till he comes out to see the world. First of all, growth and development of the baby will be highly affected. Some of the effects are:
- Premature delivery where baby is born too early
- Weight of the baby will be highly reduced
- There will be good chance of stillbirth
Every single cigarette which is smoked by a pregnant lady is harmful for the child crowing inside your womb. Rather, some chain smokers even have a habit of smoking entire pack of cigarette in a day.
Even one or two cigarettes in a day will be enough to tighten the blood vessels. You should even avoid a light habit of smoking cigarette as this can lead to several nasty complications in the life of your baby.
Specific areas of affect
Body and lungs
If your baby is undersized due to your smoking habit, it will turn up to get an underdeveloped body. Thus, even their lungs will be incapable to work. This can lead to staying in respirator for few days and weeks.
These babies even have breathing problems in future even if they start breathing by themselves.
Brain functions
Even the baby’s brain function will get disrupted if you smoke during your pregnancy period. After your baby grows up, he can suffer from learning disorder. His IQ level will be weaker than other children of his age group.
Size and weight
Smoking adversely affects the size and weight of the baby at the time of its growth inside your womb.
Since, the supply of oxygen as well as food becomes narrow due to blockage in placenta or blood stream your baby might not get enough nutrition and suffer from the problem of low weight and size.
Heart
Babies are quite lucky to face variety of heart disease in later stage of their life if their mother have smoked cigarette in the first trimester of pregnancy.
According to the recent report, these babies suffer from a specific variety of congenital heart problems. There will be obstructions with regards to flow of blood to the lungs starting from the right side of the heart.
