NH+Smoking+During+Pregnancy

=Smoking During Pregnancy (Effects on Child)= About 20% of all women smoke in most developed countries and about 9% in developing ones. Most of these women smoke while they are pregnant. In the US, about 11% of women smoke while pregnant.

Effects on Baby
doubles the risk of having a low-birth weight baby (under 5.5 lbs)
 * about 12.2% of babies born to smoking mothers had a low birth weight
 * about 7.5% of babies born to non-smoking mothers had a low birth weight
 * Low birth weight results from slow fetal growth, preterm delivery, or a combination of both
 * complications with low birthweight
 * Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS)
 * bleeding in the brain
 * patent ductus arteriosus
 * Necrotizing Enterocolitis
 * retinopathy of prematurity
 * increases the risk of preterm delivery
 * 37 weeks
 * causes heath problems for the baby
 * for just the newborn period or lifelong problems (cerebral palsy, mental retardation)
 * could cause the baby to die
 * Babies are more than 3x more likely to die from SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) than babies from nonsmoking mothers
 * after birth, the baby will have withdrawals
 * babies from smoking mothers are more jittery and harder to soothe
 * even exposure to second hand smoke can cause all of this
 * ===Smoking After Birth===
 * exposure to smoke after birth can cause the baby to have more lower respiratory problems (bronchitis and pneumonia) and ear infections than other babies who aren't exposed
 * increases chances of SIDS
 * increased risk of developing asthma

Effects on Mother (Pregnancy Complications
>
 * doubles risk of having placental problems
 * placenta previa (low lying placenta that covers some or all of the opening of the uterus
 * placental abruption (placenta peels away from the uterine wall (partially or completely) before delivery
 * PROM (premature rupture of the membranes)
 * when the sac inside the uterus that holds the baby breaks before labor begins
 * causes heavy bleeding during delivery
 * it it happens before 37 weeks, it may result in premature birth, and complications listed above[[image:ei_0357.jpg width="196" height="270"]]
 * in all of these cases a cesearian delivery can help the mother and child to live
 * increases risk of ectopic pregnancy
 * smoking also makes it harder for the women to even get pregnant

http://health.discovery.com/centers/pregnancy/americanbaby/smoking.html http://www.marchofdimes.com/professionals/14332_1171.asp
 * References**