SMOKING

Smoking Cigarettes during Pregnancy

Smoking Cigarettes during Pregnancy

Introduction

Smoking has always been considered injurious to health and root cause of many diseases. Despite of many health awareness programs, people still continue to smoke. If smoking has such adverse affects on the health of the smoker then it is quite clear and evident that it may have harmful effects on the development of the unborn child of a woman who smokes. This paper intends to discuss the prenatal development while the smoking during pregnancy. Further, it also explores the cognitive affects on the infant

Discussion

Women who smoke during pregnancy are exposed to the risk of developing a number of health problems, which also affects the fetus in various aspects. For example, smoking during pregnancy has been clearly linked to low birth weight in infants, that is, a weight of less than 5.5 pounds at birth, which increases the chances of infant death during the first month after birth.

Although some of this risk occurs because smoking increases the chances of a premature delivery, the primary cause of low birth weight among babies born to mothers who smoke is that smoking slows the fetus's rate of growth inside the uterus. This may be related to the fact that cigarette smoke in the mother's bloodstream crosses the placenta and introduces harmful chemicals into the fetus's blood. Carbon monoxide in particular reduces the amount of oxygen that can be carried in the blood of both the mother and the fetus, and nicotine can cause the fetus's blood vessels to constrict so that even less oxygen and fewer nutrients reach the fetus (Beth, B.; Judy, M et.al, 2012)

Smoking during pregnancy has been linked to increased rates of miscarriage, stillbirth, and neonatal death, as well as various bleeding problems, including placenta previa (a condition in which the placenta covers the cervix and is prone to bleeding) and placenta abruption (a condition in which the placenta abruptly separates from the endometrium). Sudden infant death syndrome—the unexplained death of an apparently healthy infant—is 2 to 4 times more common among babies whose mothers smoked while they were pregnant, and children of mothers who smoked during pregnancy have a higher than average rate of brain damage, cerebral palsy, and behavioral disorders (Beth, B.; Judy, M et.al, 2012).

Studies have shown that smoking cigarette releases more than 2,500 dangerous chemicals in the body, such as carbon monoxide, nicotine and tar. Such chemicals pose a real threat to the growth of fetus. In addition, babies born to mothers who smoked during pregnancy have a higher incidence of sudden death syndrome in infants. However, if these babies survive, they are prone to catch diseases such as asthma, pneumonia, bronchitis, learning disabilities or behavioral problems (Beth, B.; Judy, M et.al, 2012).

Effects of Smoking in The Early Stage Of Pregnancy

First Week of Embryonic Development

The first few weeks of embryonic development is very crucial part, which needs much care and attention. Even the abrupt change in climate or stress can cause spontaneous abortion, not to mention smoking, especially if ...