Tobacco is one of the leading causes of death in developed countries. It contains more than 4000 harmful substances, including nicotine and carbon monoxide. The rate of female smokers has been increasing over the years. At the moment when a woman smoker is planning a pregnancy, the ideal is to stop it as soon as possible. All of these substances pass into the bloodstream and to the baby through the umbilical cord.
On World Tobacco Day, an attempt is made to make everyone aware of the dangers of this bad vice. The harmful effects of tobacco on intrauterine babies were unknown many years ago. Today it is known that ecigar consumption in pregnancy is associated with many problems both in the short and long term.
How does tobacco affect the baby?
Stunted growth
As a general rule, a baby that develops in the womb of a woman who smokes will be born smaller than she could have been. It is estimated that a daily cigarette costs the baby 20 grams of his weight. It does not seem like much, but if we take for granted that a woman smoker will smoke at least 10 cigarettes a day, we would already be talking about a weight of 200 grams less for the newborn.
And although the idea of having a small baby can be very attractive to some women due to the fear of childbirth and tears, the problems derived from tobacco will not be only these. If there were the case of a premature baby born with just 2 kilos, those 200 grams would be very important.
Poorly developed body and organs
The lack of oxygen and the toxicity of tobacco will affect the normal development of the baby, especially its lungs. The chance that you will need a respirator and oxygen at birth increases with each cigarette. Still not convinced to get away from this habit? As the baby grows, it is very likely that he will suffer from childhood asthma and other serious respiratory problems.
Sudden infant death occurs in babies of mothers who smoke up to three times as many. It is not convenient to play with destiny; ask for help and stay away from the bad fumes. We always think that nothing is going to happen to us; I, asthmatic in childhood, I encourage you not to put your child through the same thing.
People around you should suppress their tobacco use in front of you. Being a passive smoker also has dangers.
Brain disorders
Another organ that is affected is the brain. These babies they may have learning and behavior problems.
Abstinence syndrome
I think there is nothing sadder than a newborn baby with a "monkey" because of his mother. And although this syndrome is more frequent in children of cocaine or heroin addicted mothers, I keep saying the same thing: the baby is not to blame for your bad vices. I know these are harsh words. I also know that many doctors say that one or two cigarettes a day is more preferable than the mother's "monkey", which is why it can transmit nerves to the baby.
I do not think that temporary nerves are better at the time of the urge to smoke that can be passed with moderate exercise, for example, to put more than 60 carcinogens in a baby's body that he doesn't even know the outside world yet. The side effects of cigarettes are many, and none of them good as we have seen. We are already adults and we have been able to choose whether or not we smoke.
But we must remember that our baby's life does not belong to us and we do not have to expose him to tobacco (or anything else bad, of course). Remember that a cigarette a day is also harmful and that There is no greater motivation to forget that craving for smoking than the health of your own child. Ask your family for help, and if your partner smokes also encourage him to quit for the good of all.