How Smoking During Pregnancy Can Lead To Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)?

Smoking during pregnancy is not good for unborn child.

But, the fact is that pregnant women still smoke cigarettes during their pregnancy.

Many women are unaware of the fact that how harmful cigarette smoking is on their unborn child and how smoking cigarettes during pregnancy is one of the major causes of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Causes of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) due to smoking:

Cigarette smoke contains chemicals like carbon monoxide, tar, and nicotine which are considered to be most dangerous substances for the fetus. It is also proven long before that these chemicals extremely effect the development of fetus inside the mother’s womb.

Pregnant women who smoke are under risk of ectopic pregnancy. This is especially possible when you are a heavy smoker during the first trimester of pregnancy. Ectopic pregnancy means embryo is embedded outside the uterus which is opposite to what normal pregnancy should be. The fetus has to be removed in ectopic pregnancy as this kind of pregnancy never survives.

Second hand smoke can also damage the child’s health and can lead to SIDS. Children whose parents smoke are most seriously affected by exposure to second hand smoke and are at increased risk of lower respiratory tract infections such as pneumonia and bronchitis.

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) can occur if mother smokes during breastfeeding her child. During breastfeeding, nicotine can be passed on to the baby. It is proved that there is nicotine present in the babies system through urine testing.

Risk of smoking on baby leading to SIDS:

• Cigarette smoking during pregnancy increases the probabilities of birth defects such as cleft lip and cleft palate.
• Smoking exposes the fetus to the toxins in tobacco.
• Smoking leads to the impaired lung function in the child.
• Smoking lowers oxygen levels in the fetus’s blood.
• It leads to premature birth and lower than average birth weight.
• Smoking causes the baby to be born with underdeveloped organs.
• Smoking increases the risk of developing asthma in child.

Prevent smoking to prevent SIDS:

• More than 60% of all SIDS can be prevented if people stopped smoking around the babies and pregnant women.
• Although smoking is difficult to stop, smoking cessation can have a large impact on infants. Pregnant women should be motivated to quit smoking. Pregnant women should be provided with information and encouragement to stop smoking.
• Pregnant women should quit smoking before they become pregnant. If you are already pregnant, quit during the first trimester. If you quit smoking during pregnancy, you can avoid many birth defects your child may suffer.
• If you quit smoking during pregnancy, you can avoid breathing problems like bronchitis, asthma and other breathing disorders which cause sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).