Smoking is one of the vices allowed by society (although less and less) that more problems can cause health, both own and the fetus if the woman is pregnant.
That is why at the time when pregnancy is known, the recommendations to quit tobacco appear as soon as possible (in fact it is recommended to leave it a few months before, if there is an intention to have a child), advice that some women manage to follow, but that many others not.
It is estimated that 30% of women continue to smoke during the first weeks of pregnancy, despite the risks involved. I even think of a well-known singer, Bebe, who declared in her fifth month of pregnancy that she had no intention of quitting.
Following this data I ask you this question: Did you manage to quit smoking during pregnancy?
Risks of smoking during pregnancy
I know that the risks of tobacco during pregnancy have been talked about long and hard in Babies and more, but I want to list those risks again because they are not few, precisely:
- Smoking affects the baby growth: When a woman smokes a cigarette the blood supply to the placenta decreases for 15 minutes, increasing the heart rate. Inhaled carbon monoxide causes the fetus to receive 40% less oxygen. All this affects the growth of the baby (and if that happens with a single cigarette, imagine a woman who smokes 5 cigarettes a day for 9 months. She will have smoked 1400 cigarettes ...).
Is the anxiety of quitting worse than continuing to smoke?
Some gynecologists and some midwives advise smoking cessation of pregnant mothers, although they add that, as the anxiety generated by quitting smoking is worse, it is almost better to decrease the number of cigarettes, without ever quitting.
The truth is that it is difficult to answer the question, since everything will depend on the degree of dependence of each woman. For some women, anxiety will be relatively low and may overcome the withdrawal syndrome with a little support (or without it) and for others it will be impossible to withstand such anxiety.
However, nobody says that a pregnant woman has to quit smoking herself, without anyone's help, so the ideal is to have professional and personal support and help at home.
In any case I think that the future arrival of a child is something very serious and this comment by gynecologists and midwives opens a door that is too large (which should be avoided) to “they told me that the remedy was worse than the disease and that, in my case Better not quit smoking. ”
Photos | Flickr - Vanessa Pike-Russell, Polina Sergeeva
In Babies and more | Most smokers do not quit smoking during pregnancy, Quitting smoking during pregnancy is easier, Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of children with behavioral problems
