Quitting Smoking Before Pregnant

Nicotine replacement therapy is not generally recommended for pregnant women and persons who have experienced an acute myocardial infarction within 2 weeks, have unstable angina, or have life threatening dysrhythmias. (Lewis, Dirksen, Heitkemper, Bucher, & Camera, 2011, p. 170)

Pregnancy is a joyful time for most families because that means the mother is bringing a new member into the world who will be welcomed into the family. A mother holding her newborn healthy baby in her arms for the first time makes her feel a sense of pride. This is because she has followed all of her doctor’s instructions and listened to his advice on how to keep herself healthy, and how to deliver a healthy baby after her nine months are up. But what if the new mom to be did not listen to the doctor’s advice? What if she decided to smoke during her pregnancy because she assumed it would not hurt the baby? What health problems or birth defects would the baby be challenged with when it was born? Women who smoke during their pregnancies on

Smoking during the first trimester of pregnancy could lead to the placenta not developing fully. As the placenta carries oxygen and blood to the foetus this may impair growth and link to low birth weights. Babies born to smoking mothers are 30% more likely to have a premature baby which could lead to respiratory distress, problems feeding and they could have difficulty regulating their body temperature. Babies undergo withdrawal like systems and tend to be more jittery and harder to settle. Babies being brought up in a smoking household are at increased risk of cot death and may go on to develop asthma during childhood.

For our other target audience of pregnant women, we dedicated two slides to smoking during pregnancy and the repercussions of smoking around their new young baby. We gave them information such as a low birth weight, smaller organs, likelihood of cot death and an increased risk of miscarriage. After they have had their baby, we gave them other information. This information included things such as meningitis, hearing loss, cot death, asthma and breathing problems. As well as this, we also wanted to emphasise the mothers health and how it would effect them.

Smoking and drinking not only damages the user’s body, but also causes mental and physical deformities of the fetus. Drinking alcohol and smoking while pregnant leads to brain damage and birth deformities of the newborn child. The chance of miscarriage increase along with the possibility of the baby being born early. A premature birth results in delayed comprehension, behavior problems, and lung deformities. Specifically, drinking while pregnant leads to growth problems and spinal damage to the infant. In the long-term the individual will need countless surgeries, braces, and pain medications. “Some research has shown that expectant moms who have as little as one drink a week are more likely than nondrinkers to have children who later exhibit aggressive and delinquent behavior.

Smoking while pregnant can cause a various of issues to the fetus and to the child while they are in their young ages. It can cause the child to be born 162-226 grams. This weight is lighter than a baby whose mother did not smoke. For example, while the baby is in the womb, it will slow the development of the baby’s organs, due to the toxins entering the baby’s bloodstream (Holmes ?). Another way it can harm the baby while he/she is still in the womb is by causing the baby to be stillborn (not cited yet). This sympathetic damage would have lasting impact on the mother psychologically. This could be especially painful when she has done everything right to protect her unborn

In reviewing the data, as I was not totally shocked, but found it to be of interest that maternal smoking remains an issue. The county had a 37.6% rate of women who smoked during pregnancy. Prenatal care seemed to be above average in the county with a percentage of 62% reporting “adequacy in prenatal care” (Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, 2008). A large amount of resources and time has been implemented in reducing overall smoking rates in KY. Additionally, prenatal care should entail smoking cessation during

Over the years, statistics show that smoking cigarettes can cause many serious health issues. These issues compound when the smoker is expecting. Fourteen percent of U.S. mothers smoke while pregnant despite knowing the fact that smoking causes harm to both mother and child. In younger mothers, age 25 and under, that number rises significantly to 20 percent. If a woman smokes then becomes pregnant, she must decide whether or not to quit. Woman are aware that cigarettes are not good for them or their baby, but do they understand the severity of smoking while carrying their unborn child in their womb? In this paper I will evaluate how women who smoke while pregnant are at high risk for early miscarriage, preterm birth, and birth defects. Is smoking a cigarette worth risking the life of your unborn child?

The second stage is the contemplation stage where the individual is motivated to consider changing their behaviour, maybe she reads the leaflet and attempts to seek information (Naidoo and Wills 2000). The role of the midwife at this stage would be to determine why the woman smokes and what barriers she may face in stopping smoking (Dunkley 2000). The leaflet facilitates this by allowing the woman to question why she smokes and how she feels about it. It also seeks to establish what the woman feels is good and bad about smoking and how she anticipates changing her behaviour towards smoking. It has been suggested (McLeod et al 2003) that some midwives find it difficult to broach the subject of smoking particularly with women who have no desire to stop and those who are still considering stopping. However McLeod et al (2003) found from their qualitative study that women expected to be asked about smoking during routine antenatal care and indeed they felt it was part of the midwives role to ask.

Conducting a search from the National Guideline Clearinghouse website related to our community assessment topic was the topic for discussion for this forum. The search for guidelines related to smoking while pregnant, was interesting to see the lack of guidelines listed within this resource for the topic. In addition, I was surprised to find the article I choose was not truly what I was expecting, but more of a resource to find interventions that are recommended by various agencies such as the Center for Disease Control (CD).

Also, smoking while pregnant has also lead to being the largest cause of low birth weight in babies. Smoking while pregnant affects the fetal lung development, causing offspring to fail to reach maximum lung function in childhood with subsequent lifelong decreases in pulmonary function. ( (Hayatbakhsh MR, n.d.) At birth, infants born to smokers show decreased pulmonary functions tests. Basically, anything that has to do with their breathing is substantically decreased. This increases the chances of a baby being hospitalized for respitory infections, increased wheezing, and in childhood asthma. The following quote is a research study that has shown that smoking any type of nicotine contained cigarette will result in the following, ” Moshammer and colleagues studied more than 20,000 children aged 6 to 12 years old across Europe and North America and found in utero smoke was associated with decreases in lung function parameters, with a 4% lower MMEF corresponding to a 40% increase in risk of poor lung function (defined as MMEF < 75% of expected).” (35) That number is absolutely astonishing, 40 percent of children have an increased chance of poor lung function because mother’s do not understand or care to stop the negative outcomes of smoking nicotine e-cigs or cigarette’s. Preterm delivery ( before 37 weeks) becomes increased for pregnant smokers, which interrupts normal lung development formation in itself. Most of the studies have been primarily focused on animals and then compared to

Smoking well pregnant can expose your child to harmful chemicals. Some of the chemicals in smoke won’t allow oxygen to the blood stream, such as carbon monoxide. Nicotine causes less oxygen and nutrients reach the fetus.

Smoking cigarettes has been known for several years to be harmful to the individuals who choose to smoke. Putting tar into your lungs, causing cancer, heart disease and stroke are just a few reasons many Americans choose not to smoke. However, seventeen percent of people in the United States are smokers. With that seventeen percent, ten percent of women smoke during pregnancy. Not smoking during pregnancy should be a no-brainer but women still do it. Smoking during pregnancy has been known to cause retardation, low birth weight, premature birth, and infant mortality. New studies are showing that smoking is now causing chromosomal

Smoking during pregnancy is associated with many adverse outcomes for children as well as negative consequences for child health and development. Maternal smoking late in pregnancy reduces birth weight and size. Babies that are born to habitual smokers "weigh, on average, about 9 oz. less, and are shorter both at birth and in the years to come" (Berger 115). Nicotine is the addictive ingredient in cigarettes and breaking that habit can be nearly impossible for some women. What is the acceptable way for her to stop smoking? It's my opinion a woman needs to gather all of the information she can and then discuss her options

Smoking starts causing harm, even to the unborn. A mother is a baby`s only form of life support through the umbilical cord. So,