In the UK, almost half of women smokers manage to quit once they become pregnant, but more than 30 per cent continue to smoke on and off during pregnancy, with 17 per cent of pregnant women smoking regularly.

Smoking Health Risks: Smoking Dangers During Pregnancy

Smoking can have several negative effects on unborn children. For example, babies of smokers will be on average 200 grams (8ozs) lighter at birth and will be weaker (since cigarettes can restrict the flow of nutrient and oxygen-carrying blood to the placenta). So smoking during pregnancy increases your baby’s risk of death and disease in infancy and early childhood. In fact, for every cigarette you smoke, the blood flow to your baby is disrupted for about 15 seconds.

This means that smoking while pregnant significantly increases your chances of having complications during pregnancy and labour, miscarriages, still-births and cot deaths. In fact, a quarter of cot deaths may be caused by maternal smoking.

Researcher have even found that the circumference of the heads of foetuses of women who smoked throughout pregnancy grew half a millimetre less a week during late pregnancy than those of non-smokers.

Pregnancy Health Information: Secondhand Smoking Pregnancy Risks

Even non-smoking women exposed to cigarette smoke during pregnancy are more likely to experience some of these adverse effects, such as lower birth weight in their babies, and increased risk of premature births and miscarriages.

Smoking Health Information: Will Smoking Damage My Breast Milk?

Smoking inhibits a mother’s ability to produce enough breast milk for her baby, and the milk that is produced is lower in nourishing fat concentrations.

Smoking When Pregnant: Is it Ever Safe to Smoke While Pregnant?

It’s generally thought that most negative foetal effects are due to smoking during the second and third trimester – after the first four months. But several studies have shown that any exposure to tobacco smoke during any time of pregnancy is risky.

Are you pregnant and trying to give up smoking? Or is someone you know worried about the implications of smoking during pregnancy? Share your thoughts, views and experiences on smoking and pregnancy with other users using the Comment on this Article box below. Plus, to keep up to date with all the latest smoking and pregnancy health news and lots more health tips on diet, healthy eating and more, sign-up for the monthly KeeptheDoctorAway Newsletter below.

Read More on Smoking:

Five Easy Steps to Quit Smoking

Smoking and Heart Disease

Smoking and Pregnancy

Smoking and Cancer

How Your Smoking Affects Your Children

Secondhand Smoke

The Benefits of Quitting

Smoking: The Statistics

Smoking: An Addiction As Strong As Heroin!