Dispelling Myths about Smoking and Pregnancy

Give your baby a great start to life; use the Smokefree Women Quit Guide to quit smoking today!

Myth:	There is nothing wrong with having a low birthweight baby.
Fact:	Low birth weight babies are more likely to have serious health problems than average weight babies. These problems can affect your baby’s health as a toddler or as an adult. Smoking during pregnancy increases the chances of having a low birthweight baby.

Myth:

I know women who smoked and had normal weight babies. The risks of smoking aren’t really that great.

Fact:

Having a low birthweight baby is not the only health risk associated with smoking while pregnant. Some of the other health problems are not visible at birth. For example, children whose mothers smoked during pregnancy are at greater risk than other children for behavioral problems, including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Research also suggests that children whose mothers smoked during pregnancy are at an increased risk of have a learning disorder, as well as becoming smokers themselves.

Myth:	I am three months pregnant. There is no point in stopping now. The damage is done.
Fact:	There are benefits to quitting smoking at any stage of your pregnancy. If you quit now, your risk of having a low birth weight baby will be similar to that of a nonsmoker. Quitting now also increases the chances your baby’s lungs will work well.

Myth:	Smoking relaxes me, and being relaxed is better for me and my baby.
Fact:	You may feel calmer when smoking, but the results inside your body are quite the opposite. Smoking speeds up your heart rate and increases your blood pressure. Every puff of a cigarette also increases the carbon monoxide (CO) in your bloodstream, making less oxygen available to your baby.

Myth:

Quitting smoking will be too stressful on my baby.

Fact:

Continuing to smoke during pregnancy does not provide any benefits to your baby. Quitting smoking does not put extra stress on your baby. Quitting smoking is one of the best things that you can do for your health and your baby’s health during development in the womb and after it is born. By quitting smoking, you will be protecting your infant from the dangers of secondhand smoke and reducing the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Myth:	Smoking fewer cigarettes during pregnancy is good enough.
Fact:	There is no safe level of smoking. Even a few cigarettes a day means harmful chemicals will reach your baby and damage your health. It is never too late to quit. Quitting at any time during pregnancy is likely to reduce the bad effects of smoking on your baby.

Myth:	If I stop smoking, then I'll gain too much weight.
Fact:	Some women are concerned about gaining weight when they quit smoking. During pregnancy, you require more calories to meet the needs of your growing baby and to maintain your own health. A balanced, healthy diet consists of eating moderately from a wide variety of foods. Consult your doctor to determine how much weight gain is healthy for you and your baby.

Myth:

The only way to quit smoking is cold turkey.

Fact:

There are other ways to quit smoking besides cold turkey. Pregnant women do have options to boost their chances of becoming and staying smokefree. Try this quit guide made especially for pregnant smokers: Forever Free for Baby and Me.

Pregnant women who are considering quitting smoking should talk to their doctor before using any medications, including any “natural products” from health food stores. More research is needed before we can say for sure whether medications that help you quit smoking are safe and effective for pregnant women. But this does not mean that pregnant women cannot get help quitting smoking.

For more information about pregnancy and medicines, visit womenshealth.gov.

Myth:	I smoke, so I should not breastfeed my baby.
Fact:	According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, mothers who smoke are encouraged to quit smoking, but should continue to breastfeed their baby. Breast milk is really good for your baby, but smoking changes the breast milk and may disrupt your baby’s sleep patterns. Mothers who smoke may also have problems releasing milk. These complications may make it difficult for you to feed your baby.

Adapted from Ontario Medical Association and Quit Victoria.

References
(1) American Academy of Pediatrics. Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk. Pediatrics, 2005; 115: 496-506.
(2) Batty, G. D., Der, G., & Deary, I. J. (2006). Effect of maternal smoking during pregnancy on offspring’s cognitive ability: Empirical evidence for complete confounding in the US national longitudinal survey of youth. Pediatrics, 118(3), 943–950.
(3) Buka, S. L., Shenassa, E. D., & Niaura, R. (2003). Elevated risk of tobacco dependence among offspring of mothers who smoked during pregnancy: A 30-year prospective study. American Journal of Psychiatry, 160(11), 1978–1984.
(4) Fiore MC, Bailey WC, Cohen SJ, Dorfman SF, Goldstein MG, Gritz ER, et al. Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: 2008 Update—Clinical Practice Guidelines . Rockville (MD): U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2008.
(5) Higgins TM, Higgins ST, Heil SH, Badger GJ, Skelly JM, Bernstein IM, Solomon LJ, Washio Y, Preston AM. Effects of cigarette smoking cessation on breastfeeding duration. Nicotine Tob Res. 2010 May;12(5):483-8. Epub 2010 Mar 25.
(6) Hopkinson JM, Schanler RJ, Fraley JK, Garza C. Milk production by mothers of premature infants: influence of cigarette smoking. Pediatrics. 1992;90:934–938.
(7) Linnet KM, Dalsgaard S, Obel C, Wisborg K, Henriksen TB, Rodriguez A, Kotimaa A, Moilanen I, Thomsen PH, Olsen J, Jarvelin MR. Maternal lifestyle factors in pregnancy risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and associated behaviors: review of the current evidence. American Journal of Psychiatry, 2003 Jun; 160(6):1028-1040.
(8) Liu J, Rosenberg KD, Sandoval AP. Breastfeeding duration and perinatal cigarette smoking in a population-based cohort. Am J Public Health. 2006 Feb;96(2):309-14. Epub 2005 Dec 27.
(9) McCowan LM, Dekker GA, Chan E, Stewart A, Chappell LC, Hunter M, Moss-Morris R, North RA; SCOPE consortium. Spontaneous preterm birth and small for gestational age infants in women who stop smoking early in pregnancy: prospective cohort study. BMJ. 2009 Mar 26;338:b1081.
(10) Mennella JA, Yourshaw LM, Morgan LK. Breastfeeding and smoking: short-term effects on infant feeding and sleep. Pediatrics. 2007 Sep;120(3):497-502.
(11) Mick E, Biederman J, Faraone SV, Sayer J, Kleinman S. Case-control study of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and maternal smoking, alcohol use, and drug use during pregnancy. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2002 Apr; 41(4):378-385.
(12) National Institute of Mental Health, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder/complete-index.shtml#pub3, reviewed 08/27/10, accessed 09/27/10.
(13) U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease: The Biology and Behavioral Basis for Smoking-Attributable Disease, 2010. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Office on Smoking and Health, Atlanta, GA, 2010.
(14) U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General, 2004. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Office on Smoking and Health, Atlanta, GA, May 2004.

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