It would seem an indisputable fact: Smoking - harm, smoking during pregnancy - harm doubly. After all, it affects not only the body of a woman. Tobacco smoke harms her future child. Nevertheless, the statistics are as follows: 22% of smokers, even expecting a child, do not leave their habit. At the same time, almost 8.5% of them smoke 10 cigarettes a day, and sometimes even more. Some of them are all talking about the dangers of smoking for the future baby are treated as empty "horror stories". Let's try to figure it out -

What harms smoking during pregnancy?

Cigarette smoke contains about four thousand substances harmful to humans. Of these, the best known

• carbon monoxide
• nicotine - a substance that narrows the blood vessels
• benzene, which has carcinogenic properties
• hydrocyanic acid
• formaldehyde

Carbon monoxide Probably, many people still rememberschool times that this substance binds firmly to hemoglobin, forming carboxyhemoglobin - a stable compound that is unable to carry oxygen. Thus, smoking leads to hypoxia (lack of oxygen) in all organs of the smoker, and in pregnancy - also in all organs of the future baby. Once physicians believed that the placental barrier keeps any harmful substances, not allowing them to get into the blood of the baby. However, further research has shown that - alas! - for the carbon monoxide the placental barrier does not pose a serious obstacle. This poison easily penetrates the placenta, binding hemoglobin in the fetal blood. And it turned out that the amount of carboxyhemoglobin in the blood of the baby may be even 10 - 15% higher than in the mother's blood. And if you remember also that smokers "with experience" often have respiratory diseases, which also make it difficult to get oxygen into the body - it remains only to sympathize with the poor kid, who literally suffocates in the womb of his mother. Nicotine Scientific studies have shown that nicotine is able to influence the level of certain hormones. For example, it reduces the production of progesterone, which, in fact, is responsible for the safe bearing of pregnancy. In addition, the extremely adverse effect of nicotine on the placenta was identified. Most women who smoked more than ten cigarettes a day found dead skin in the placenta. The placenta of a smoking woman is more subtle, its mass is often below normal. Even its form differs from the placenta form of a non-smoking woman. It is clear that this placenta copes worse with its functions. Under the influence of nicotine, premature separation of the placenta, extensive herocardial infarction, is possible. These phenomena can lead to the death of the fetus. Relentless statistics show that such cases occur among women who smoke, regardless of how well they eat. In addition, nicotine causes a spasm of the uterine vessels. As a consequence, the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the baby is difficult.

Other effects of smoking during pregnancy

Some substances that enter the body of a womanwhen smoking, suppress immunity. Therefore, smokers often get sick. It is clear that the extra diseases of mom are not good for the baby. Doctors say that during pregnancy, illnesses provoked by prolonged smoking are quite often aggravated. For example, thyroid diseases that occur in women who smoke six times more often. During pregnancy, problems with thyroid gland increase, some women have symptoms of Graves' disease - an extremely unpleasant disease, which, by the way, poses a serious threat to the future child (prematurity, prematurity). Smoking women are more likely than non-smokers to suffer from severe toxicosis (both early and late). The likelihood of premature birth or, conversely, overstimulation of pregnancy increases. Women who smoke women often have longer periods. The likelihood of complications during labor in smokers is almost doubled. It would seem that this is enough to make pregnant women abandon their habit for the sake of the child's health. However, many smokers are in no hurry to give up cigarettes, reassuring themselves by reasoning that everything is not so scary.

Myths about smoking

"Herbs" are less harmful than conventional cigarettes. Smoke cannabis or anasha - and your harmless weakness will not hurt the baby in any way? However, both experiments on pregnant female animals and observations of women using "herbs" during pregnancy showed that such a "weakness" can not be called harmless. Smoking "grass" leads to oxygen starvation of the fetus in exactly the same way as when smoking tobacco. In children, mothers who smoked during pregnancy hemp, hashish, anasha, observed: slowing the growth of the fetus; violation of the formation of the nervous system; violations of the formation of the organs of vision; the body of newborn babies is weakened, they usually get sick more often than their peers. In addition, some children exhibited the so-called "fetal cannabis syndrome", when women who used "grass", gave birth to children with various mental abnormalities.

Proper nutrition and vitamins will helpcompensate for the adverse effects of smoking on the pregnant woman's organism and give birth to a healthy child. However, as we saw above, the sense of nutrients can be small if the placental damaged by nicotine is not able to fully deliver their baby.

The whole thing in heredity is the supporterssmoking. And non-smokers have sick children, and smokers give birth to healthy people. If the child is destined to be born weak and sick, so he will be born, at least chicken, though not chicken. Heredity, of course, can not be discarded. As well as other unfavorable factors. But after all smoking can aggravate problems with a kid's health. In addition, if someone's friend "smoked and gave birth to a healthy child" - it's still not talking about anything. The statistics are still more informative.

And what does statistics say?

All statistical data confirm thatSmoking of pregnant women does pose a threat to their future children. Miscarriage and premature birth As studies in the United States and Great Britain have shown, the risk of miscarriage among women smokers is 30 to 70% higher. The death rate at birth is 30%, the risk of a sudden death of a newborn is increased by 52%. According to Czech doctors, in 96% of cases, miscarriage was associated with maternal smoking. The likelihood of premature birth was directly related to the number of cigarettes smoked by a woman. As it turned out, smoking four cigarettes a day already poses a serious danger for the future child. French researchers conducted observations of 9,169 pregnant women in 13 Parisian maternity hospitals, and reached similar conclusions: the risk of intrauterine death of a child directly depends on the number of cigarettes smoked by the mother. The newborn babies born from smoking mothers, according to statistics, have an average body weight of 200-300 grams below the norm. And the reduced weight of the body is the children of those mothers who did not smoke during pregnancy, but had this habit before they became pregnant. Even if the mother smokes moderately (that is, smokes less than 9 cigarettes a day), this fact increases the probability of her newborn baby's death by 20% and the risk of various developmental anomalies by half. Heart defects, inguinal hernia, strabismus, wolf mouth, hare lip - all these disorders are more common in children smokers mums. American doctors also argue that smoking increases the likelihood of the birth of a baby with Down syndrome. It has been established that in babies whose mothers smoked during pregnancy, there are such consequences of hypoxia (lack of oxygen) as:

• bad sleep
• irritability, frequent crying
• difficulties with attaching to the chest

In the future, such children often lag behind in both physical and mental development, are less resistant to infectious diseases, often suffer from bronchitis and lung diseases.

Long-term consequences

According to WHO statistics, the consequences of smoking a mothermanifested in children up to six years. Such children later start to read, count. Passing psychological tests, they show somewhat worse results than children of non-smoking mothers. In the UK, over 17,000 children were monitored. The scientists carefully examined the babies immediately after birth, then repeated the survey seven and eleven years later. It turned out that children who "smoked" in utero together with their mothers, even at the age of seven and eleven, showed a slowdown in mental and physical development. Children of mothers who smoked more than ten cigarettes a day had an increase of 1 cm (on average) less than that of other children. Such children also lagged behind in mathematics and reading. German doctors also allocated 17,000 children for observation and received similar results. The children of smokers' mothers at eleven years were weaker than their peers in the counting, reading and writing. The results of their psychological tests were also far from the best. The conclusion is unequivocal: pregnant women can not be smoked! But how to cope with this habit?

How to quit smoking?

In women's forums there are sometimes reports,which concern smoking pregnant. There are often disputes - can you get rid of the passion for a cigarette? "It is possible and necessary!", - the women who once smoked said, but left this habit during pregnancy or even before it began. "It's quite difficult!" - object those who are not able to part with the cigarette. Those and others willingly share with the future mothers the secrets: how to quit smoking or, if this is not possible, reduce the number of cigarettes to a minimum. Here are their tips:

Gradually reduce the number of smoked cigarettes. On a cigarette, a half a cigarette a day. Try to distract yourself with something. If you need to take your hands - borrow them by drawing or crossword puzzles. If there is a need to keep something in your mouth - gnaw a carrot or a straw, seeds, suck candies or frozen juice. If smoking helps you to relax - read something, listen to calm music. If smoking is a way of getting pleasure for you, try to invent a more harmless entertainment.

Think yourself of some reward for quitting. For example, calculate how much you spend on cigarettes a year and buy this money for yourself or for the baby.

Choose cigarettes with less nicotine.

Do less puffs.

Smoke only half of the cigarette (closer to the filter, the concentration of harmful substances increases).

Try to smoke without delay.

Never buy cigarettes for future use.

Leave cigarettes somewhere far away, in an uncomfortable place (for example, in a garage).

Do not scold yourself if you fail. On the contrary, rejoice at your achievements. After all, every delay, from which you refused - this is a victory!

If all your efforts for two weeks are notled to the desired results, think about how to turn to a therapist. Especially if giving up smoking causes you to feel anxious. It is desirable to quit smoking even at the planning stage of pregnancy, at least one year before the alleged conception. And not only the future mother, but also the future father. After all, smoking fathers often have pathological changes in sperm. It is established that babies with congenital malformations are born at smoking fathers twice as often as non-smokers. In addition, passive smoking during pregnancy affects the baby no less than smoking the mother herself. So let the poisonous smoke do not prevent the baby from being born healthy! We advise you to read:

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