There are a whole host of personal health risks for smokers. My grandmother swore that her doctor told her smoking was fine and that she was not the worse for it. While she didn’t die prematurely, she did die of lung cancer. Not only is smoking bad for you but second hand smoke poses health risks to the point where they have legislated that there be designated non-smoking areas in public places so that non-smokers’ health won’t suffer.
No one really wants to talk about the health risks that smoking poses to a new baby though. It’s mentioned here and there, but really I hear very little about how not only pregnant moms, but moms with small children need to stop smoking for the protection of their babies. Let’s take a look today at the risk you could be exposing your baby to if you are a smoker:
1. Research is coming out all the time but studies strongly suggest that nicotine in the womb affects babies the same way crack and heroine do. The baby goes through withdrawal and a longitudinal study showed that babies of smokers suffered the same consequences on their behavior as did babies whose mothers had done crack during pregnancy.
2. An infant is twice as likely to die of SIDS if a parent in the house is a smoker.
3. It doesn’t matter if you smoke outside. Studies show that the effects are equivalent. So whether you smoke outside or right in front of your baby–it’s all the same.
4. Second hand smoke is associated with a variety of children’s respiratory illnesses. This includes anything from allergies, to worsening the effects of RSV, to asthma. In essence, second hand smoke hurts babies’ lungs.
5. Babies exposed to tobacco smoke have elevated levels of NNAL in their urine. NNAL is a known carcinogen associated with tobacco use and exposure. Not surprisingly, children of smokers have four times the normal rate of childhood cancers than do children of non-smokers.
Anytime is a good time to quit, but having a baby definitely can give that extra incentive to kick the habit!