Did you know smoking cigarettes causes many health problems? These include cancer, heart disease and lung disease.
Knowing you are the person responsible for the growth and nutritional well-being of your baby will hopefully give you the additional incentive you need to help you to quit smoking.
Pregnancy is a great time to quit smoking. If you smoke during pregnancy you:
• Double the risk of having a low birth weight baby.
Have a higher risk of:
• Spontaneous abortion (miscarriage), Ectopic pregnancy (outside the uterus)
• Premature birth, Stillbirth, Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS or cot death)
• Cleft palate & cleft lip, childhood cancers.
If you smoke during your pregnancy you put yourself and your developing baby at greater risk than a woman who doesn’t smoke cigarettes during pregnancy.
The developing foetus is in contact with the mothers’ bloodstream, so any chemicals the mother breathes or ingests can affect the foetus.
This includes tobacco smoke coming from the woman smoking or inhaling smoke in the environment (passive smoking)
They are the lucky ones. By smoking during pregnancy there is a greater risk of losing the pregnancy. The baby could also be born too early before the lungs are ready and he or she could have trouble breathing.
It is not always easier to birth a smaller baby. And a baby that weighs too little is often sick with lots of health problems. Smaller babies are more likely to need special care and stay longer in the hospital. Some may die either at birth or within the first year.
The only way to really protect your unborn baby is to quit. Cutting down is better than doing nothing but it may not make things much better for the baby.
If a pregnant woman cuts down or switches to low-tar cigarettes, she must be careful not to inhale more deeply or take more puffs to get the same amount of nicotine as before.
The best time to quit is when the woman thinks she will get pregnant in the near future. If she does quit, her baby will probably weigh the same as the baby of a woman who never smoked. If she quits during the first three to four months of her pregnancy she can lower her baby’s chances of being born too small and with lots of health problems.
She can learn to relax in other ways that are much better for her and the unborn baby. When she feels tense she can take some deep breaths or chew sugarless gum. She can also do something with her hands like sew something for the baby or call a friend.
She can ask for help from her doctor, midwife or from family & friends.
She can make a list of her reasons for wanting to quit, for herself and the baby and ask for stop smoking materials and read them.
A smoker needs to learn about her own smoking habit and plan ways to cope with urges to smoke after she quits. She can try the four Ds:
Delay, Deep breathe, Drink water and Do something else.
The midwives at the Women & Children's clinics are happy to help you quit smoking. Please ask for help or you may wish to contact:
• QUITLINE on 131848 (24 hour toll free) Talk to a trained counsellor.
• Freedom from smoking online, smoking cessation clinic online @ www.ffsonline.org
Helpful websites for information on quitting smoking:
www.quitnow.info.au
www.quit.org.au
References:
American Lung Association. (2004). Smoking & Pregnancy http://www.lungusa.org
Accessed 23/5/05
National Institute of Clinical Studies (2003) Evidence-practice gaps report, volume 1, 4-5, NICS, Melbourne.
Queensland Government. Smokecheck. Indigenous tobacco brief intervention program handbook , (2003) Queensland Health.
Queensland Cancer Fund information sheet “The health effects of smoking”.
Drugs can be harmful to a developing foetus throughout the pregnancy but the first three months is considered the time of most risk because the major organs and limbs of the baby are forming. The PLACENTA is the means by which all supplies of nutrients; water and oxygen pass through from the mother to the baby. All drugs taken during pregnancy will reach the baby through the placenta, however there is an enormous variation in baby's responses to these drugs.
Drugs that are of a concern in pregnancy include: alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, amphetamines, heroin, cocaine, tranquillisers and sleeping pills, painkillers, LSD, ecstasy and other designer drugs, glues and aerosols. Some prescription drugs and herbal treatments can also be a problem during pregnancy, so discuss this with your doctor or midwife as soon as you are pregnant.
You may know someone who has had what appears to be a healthy baby even though they took drugs during their pregnancy. You cannot assume that your baby will be healthy if you take drugs during your pregnancy. No-one can predict how your baby will be affected.
Overall there is a higher risk of
• Premature labour and small babies who are at risk from infections and breathing problems.
• Possible congenital defects.
• Disturbed sleep patterns, irritability and difficulty feeding.
• A negative effect on problem-solving ability, memory and the ability to concentrate, from about 3
years of age.
Help is Available
Speak to your midwife or doctor at your appointment
Alcohol Tobacco & other Drug Services, 242 Walker Street, Townsville (ATODS). Ph. 47789677
Contact Alcohol and Drug Information Service Townsville (ADIS) (Toll Free 1800 177833)
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