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Based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are still 10 percent of women who smoke in the last 3 months after pregnancy. As many as 55 percent of them decided to quit during pregnancy, and 40 percent of them returned to smoking 6 months after delivery. But actually, what will happen if you smoke while pregnant?
Contents in cigarettes
Cigarettes contain a number of substances that are harmful because they have toxic effects on the body, two of which are the most frequently discussed are carbon monoxide and nicotine (substances in cigarettes that can cause the wearer to feel addicted). In one suction, these substances will be absorbed in your blood, and eventually circulated throughout the body through the blood vessels, until they reach your fetus.
Smoking during pregnancy, what are the effects?
The process, which directly exposes the fetus as mentioned above, has several effects on the fetus if the mother smokes during pregnancy, including:
- Reducing the oxygen content for mother and fetus
- Increase the baby's heart pressure
- Increases the baby's risk for miscarriage and stillbirth
- Increases the risk of premature birth and low birth weight babies. Some babies end up dying because of this condition.
- Increase the risk of the baby experiencing lung problems
- Increases the risk of the baby having birth defects
- Increase the risk of the baby, even if he is born healthy but experiences sudden death even before he is 1 year old (sudden infant death syndrome)
- Can trigger disruption of the placenta, the channel connecting the mother to the baby. Disorders of the placenta can cause the baby's heart to not function normally, the difficulty of the delivery process and the disruption of the flow of both food and oxygen from the mother to the baby.
Being a passive smoker also doesn't necessarily reduce the impact that your fetus will feel, such as asthma, allergies and the risk of exposure to ear and lung infections.
Quit smoking while pregnant
You will of course be asked to stop smoking especially if you are pregnant. Quitting smoking can help your heart and your fetus return to beating normally and your potential for developing respiratory problems will decrease.
You also need to know that there are several symptoms that you will experience when you decide to quit, such as constantly feeling the need for cigarettes, feeling very hungry, increased coughing frequency, headaches and difficulty concentrating.
But you don't need to worry, these symptoms will disappear after about 10 to 14 days. Keeping in your mind the reasons why you quit, can help you so that you do not become swayed easily. These symptoms will not be compared with the impact that you and your fetus will feel, if you decide to keep smoking.
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