Smoking And Fetal Development Research Paper

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 during pregnancy has also been linked to child behavioral problems. Our text tells us that studies suggest exposure to tobacco can have long-term effects on children’s cognitive and social development. The studies show that there were higher rates of learning problems. There was also antisocial behavior among the children whose mothers smoked while being pregnant.

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

According to Hill, Young, Burley, Carter & Lang (2013), smoking amongst teenage girls is the most popular risk factor during pregnancy. The numerous effects of smoking while pregnant are (a) premature births (b) still births (c) miscarriages and (d) low birth rates. There are fifty seven percent of teenage mothers that smoke

Nicotine is the main chemical in tobacco products. Though there are many different forms that one can get it in. “In western countries, up to 25% of all pregnant women smoke during pregnancy” (Bakker, 2011). Many pregnant women know the risks that nicotine can have on the pregnancy, and take the chance anyway.

Exposure to second hand smoke, also called involuntary smoking, occurs when non-smokers breathe in the cigarette smoke from others around them. Second hand smoke is harmful to both pregnant women and infants (NTP). Paternal smoking reduces birth weight by about 2 oz. (Berger 115). After birth, babies exposed to cigarette smoke may experience more colds, lung problems, and even ear infections.

Cigarette smoking increases a wide range of issues, with prematurity (20-30%) and low birth weight (which doubles) being the most probable. The first trimester is considered a critical time for growth as the fetus is beginning to develop organs. If a woman smokes only in her trimester and then quits, she has put her fetus at risk of developing a birth defect. Also, the second and third trimesters are important as well due to the fact that neurological defects result if a woman is smoking

The primary level of prevention has a great significance in order to educate and attempt to prevent women from smoking once they become pregnant. Providing pregnant women with the right tools in order to help them successfully cope with life stressors in place of smoking should be provided as well as cessation classes in order to effectively manage the risk of smoke inhalation on both the mother and unborn fetus.

Smoking tobacco is known to be one of the largest epidemics the world has ever encountered. Smoking kills over seven million people per year. It not only kills, but also harms those who have not yet entered this world. Unborn babies impacted by their mothers who smoke can have life-altering problems (“WHO | Tobacco”, nd). Expecting mothers who smoke during the prenatal period could expect a 5 – 8% chance of a preterm or stillborn birth, a 13 – 19% chance of having a low birth-weight baby, or a 23 – 34% chance of sudden infant death syndrome. Fortunately, smoking awareness has garnered attention over the past two decades and smoking during pregnancy has decline in high socioeconomic countries like the United States (Meernik & Goldstein, 2015).

The number one risk to unborn babies is smoking.  Smoking during pregnancy reduces the amount of oxygen that the baby receives and increases the risk of miscarriage, bleeding, and morning sickness. Chemicals inhaled while smoking may lead to other health problems with the baby. Reduced birth weight, premature birth, increased risk of SIDS, and stillbirth are other possible consequences. Pregnant women should also avoid second hand smoke, as it carries much of the side effects as actual

Moreover, they will have a birth weight on average 200g less than those born to non-smokers. Therefore, this could affect raises evenly such as if the mother smokes more the infant's weight will be less. The baby will have organs which are smaller than babies who born to non-smokers. The babies they will have poorer lung function as well as the infants are likely to be ill regularly. The babies born to mother that smoked fifteen cigarettes or more each day during pregnancy, they are taken to the hospital 2 times as often during the first 8 month of life. The babies could get painful diseases including; inflammation of the middle ear as well as asthmatic bronchitis more often in their early childhood. In addition, they are likely to become smokers

The effects of cigarette smoking can be horrifying. Smoking is dangerous not only to those who smoke, but to non-smokers and unborn children as well. Cigarette smoking is also physically and socially harming.

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