Medical Questions » Pregnancy Questions » Question No. 802
| Question: | How dangerous is smoking during pregnancy? Does it cause miscarriages? |
| Answer: | There is no doubt that the babies of mothers who smoke are smaller (by 250 g on average) than those of non-smoking mothers. There is also an increased rate of both premature labour (delivering the baby too early) and miscarriage in these women.
After birth these babies continue to suffer both directly and indirectly from their mothers' smoking. The smoking by the mother appears to reduce their resistance to disease, and infections in particular, so that babies born to smoking mothers die in infancy more often than average. By inhaling the smoke from either of their parents, these infants have more colds, bronchitis and other respiratory problems than babies in non-smoking homes.
Any woman who smokes should ideally cease before she falls pregnant, but certainly no later than when the pregnancy is diagnosed. This is far easier said than done, but if the husband stops at the same time, support and encoutage-ment is given by family and friends, and assistance is obtained from the family doctor, women who are motivated to give their baby the best possible chance in life will succeed in kicking this very addictive habit.
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