The Dangers of Smoking During Pregnancy

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Smoking cigarettes, in general, is bad for one's health. Smoking can lead to a lot of diseases, such as heart failures and lung and throat cancer. A worse mixture of smoking cigarettes would be smoking during pregnancy.

Smoking while you're pregnant can put not only your health at risk but also your baby's. Always remember that when you're pregnant, you need to think about you and your baby now. Cigarettes contain chemicals that are very dangerous to you and your baby's health, such as nicotine, carbon monoxide, and tar. If you are not aware of how dangerous cigarette smoking is to pregnant women, here are the dangers that might cost a baby's life. 

Smoking makes it hard for you to get pregnant. If you're a smoker even before you get pregnant, you might have a hard time conceiving a child. Cigarettes can cause a lot of negative effects on one's health. It may affect your reproductive system or your whole system in general.

Cigarettes can also lead to impotency for both men and women. According to the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, female and male smokers are about twice as likely to have issues when it comes to fertility compared to nonsmokers.  If you're a smoker and you have plans for kids in the future, it is best to quit smoking and find better alternatives to replace the habit. 

Miscarriages. This has got to be the most tragic thing that could happen to a pregnant woman or a couple. Miscarriages normally happen during the first trimester, or the first three months of the pregnancy. There is a stillbirth, which happens on rare occasion after 20 weeks of gestation. Smoking increases the risk of miscarriages and stillbirth.

In fact, according to the statistics and research conducted by the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, smoking during pregnancy can lead to miscarriage and stillbirth. This is because of the dangerous chemicals cigarettes possess. Cigarettes weaken the placenta and can lead to slow fetal development that causes miscarriages and stillbirth.

Ectopic pregnancy. This might be uncommon to most pregnant women, but ectopic pregnancy is very dangerous and can be fatal especially to the mother's health. This can be caused by the nicotine in cigarettes.

An ectopic pregnancy happens when a fertilized egg is implanted outside of the uterus. It may have been implanted in the fallopian tube or in the abdomen of a woman. In this case, the embryo should be removed immediately before it triggers a more life-threatening complication in the mother. 

Preterm birth. Smoking can also lead to preterm birth. Preterm birth happens when the child is born earlier than planned. A lot of health problems may arouse and risks are very high in preterm birth. This may include complications to the baby such as visual and hearing impairments, mental disability, learning, and behavioral problems, or complications that could lead to death. 

If you're a pregnant woman who used to smoke, or is still struggling to quit smoking, you may opt to see your doctor for advice or seek another healthy habit alternative that you can use to replace cigarettes. Check out tips and find quit-smoking apps and websites that will help you.