Care for your baby's air

Smoking and Pregnancy

20-25% of women in Australia smoke during pregnancy.

Smoking during pregnancy makes it harder for the baby to get the oxygen and nourishment he or she needs and places unnecessary stress on the baby’s heart. Every puff an expectant mother takes on a cigarette increases the level of carbon monoxide in her bloodstream, which replaces oxygen in her blood, so the amount of oxygen available for the baby through the umbilical cord is reduced. Nicotine also causes a reduction in the baby’s “practice” breathing movements in the womb.

When an expectant mother smokes, her baby is being exposed to the same high level of poisons as she is. Once the baby is born, he or she can also suffer when other people smoke around them. This is known as passive smoking. The level of poisons found in an unborn baby whose mother smokes is over 100 times greater than the level of poisons found in a young baby exposed to passive smoking.

Health effects

If a pregnant woman smokes or is exposed to smoke during pregnancy, her baby has an increased risk of:

• Asthma
• Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
• Unhealthy birth weight
• Miscarriage or premature labour
• Perinatal mortality
• Higher risk of difficult pregnancies and births
• Higher risk of ectopic pregnancy.

Asthma

People with asthma have sensitive airways in their lungs. When exposed to certain triggers, their airways narrow, making it hard for them to breathe.

There are two main factors that cause the airways to become narrow:

1. The inside lining of the airways becomes inflamed and extra mucus may be produced.
2. The muscle around the airways tightens (bronchoconstriction).

When the airways narrow, symptoms of cough, wheeze, shortness of breath or chest tightness may occur. People with asthma may have any one of these symptoms or a combination of symptoms.

The causes of asthma are not fully understood, but there is often a family history of asthma, eczema or hay fever. Asthma can begin at any age and can change over time.

Children of mothers who smoke during pregnancy and children exposed to passive smoking early in childhood have an increased risk of developing asthma.

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)

SIDS means the sudden, unexpected death of a baby. The cause of the death is not known. SIDS is the most common cause of death in babies between one month and one year of age. Most babies who die of SIDS are under six months.

It is still not clear what causes SIDS. However parents who smoke during pregnancy and after the baby is born increase the risk of SIDS for their baby. In fact, if the mother smokes, the risk of SIDS doubles, and if the father smokes too, the risk doubles again.

There is an increased risk of SIDS if parents are smokers, even if they smoke outside away from the baby. If mothers who are smokers bed share with their babies the risk of SIDS is increased. The reasons for this are not clear. However, we do know that being a non-smoker or smoking less will reduce the risk for your baby.

For more information about SIDS please contact SIDS and Kids on 1300 308 307 or visit www.sidsandkids.org

Unhealthy birth weight

An unhealthy birth weight can make the baby more vulnerable to infections and other health problems.