Quitting smoking during pregnancy, the best decision

 30% of smokers continue smoking in the first weeks of pregnancy. If this is your case, we will tell you why you should quit tobacco now and some tricks that will help you succeed in your attempt.

Goodbye to cigarettes: it is best to do it with help! If you are pregnant and smoke, you can take the opportunity to quit tobacco. Many women achieve it, although after giving birth it is also easy to relapse. 50% of smokers start smoking again six months after giving birth, and a year later the figure rises to 80%.

No future mother wants to harm her child, but in some women, the addiction to nicotine is so strong that they cannot stop smoking alone: ​​only four out of ten pregnant women manage to stop smoking exclusively through their willpower.

There is no reason to carry that burden alone. To reinforce the decision to quit smoking, it is important to seek professional help: a good first step is to consult a gynecologist" target="_self.

Quitting smoking is worth it, for you and your baby

Pregnant smokers light an average of 13 cigarettes a day. If added, throughout pregnancy the baby is exposed to the harmful substances of 3,640 cigarettes. When you smoke a cigarette you are inhaling more than 4,700 harmful substances.

When a pregnant woman stops smoking, the reward is felt shortly after.

After about 20 minutes, the pulse and blood pressure drop. The carbon monoxide content in the body is reduced after eight hours and 24 hours later the risk of heart attack subsides.

The baby immediately feels that you have stopped smoking

The baby also feels the positive effects immediately, since he receives the appropriate amount of oxygen and nourishment, and his development is not hindered by nicotine or other chemical agents.

By quitting smoking I protect the child

Tobacco consumption affects the growth of the baby. With each cigarette, blood flow through the placenta decreases for about 15 minutes, which increases the number of fetal heartbeats. The carbon monoxide inhaled with smoke reduces the oxygen received by the fetus by 40 percent. This affects their growth: the more the mother smokes, the less the child will grow; For this reason, children of smoking women weigh an average of 200 grams less at birth.

However, this does not portend an easier birth. When a woman is a smoker, complications during childbirth are common.

Tobacco smoke harms unborn babies more than adults

Quitting smoking also protects your child from premature birth. One in seven children of a smoking mother comes into the world prematurely. In fact, 15 percent of premature births are due to tobacco use during pregnancy.

Smoking also increases the risk of bleeding and abortion. It also makes the pregnant woman feel more tired and practice less sports.

In addition, quitting smoking reduces the risk of sudden infant death, spontaneous abortions, and the risk of hemorrhage. A pregnant woman who smokes more than 20 cigarettes a day has twice the risk of her baby dying from placental abruption than a non-smoker.

The Heidelberg Cancer Center in Germany points out that 25 percent of stillborn children and 20 percent of sudden death cases could be avoided if the pregnant woman quit smoking before the 16th week of gestation.

Quitting smoking prevents lung problems. Tobacco smoke hinders the development of the fetus's lungs. Their functions decrease when the mother smokes, a problem that persists after birth.

Children exposed to tobacco suffer more acute and chronic respiratory diseases, asthma, allergies, and otitis than children of non-smoking parents.

Regarding congenital malformations, recent studies have shown that smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of cleft lip and palate in the baby when the mother has a genetic predisposition to transmit it. Additionally, children of mothers who smoked during pregnancy have a higher risk of developing certain types of cancer in the future, such as kidney and bladder cancer.

Quitting smoking reduces the child's chances of developing addictions in the future. Children of smoking mothers have more nicotine receptors in the brain, which makes them more susceptible to being smokers when they reach adolescence and try tobacco out of curiosity.

Babies of smoking mothers have to detoxify after birth

Quitting smoking prevents cellular damage. Many harmful substances in tobacco smoke cross the placenta and reach the baby's bloodstream, such as carbon monoxide, which blocks the oxygen carried by the blood and damages its supply. It also prevents allergies, since tobacco promotes them, and affects several generations. The grandchildren of smoking grandmothers are more at risk of suffering from an allergy than children who were not exposed to these bad smokes.

Inside the mother's womb, the baby can become accustomed to tobacco and, at birth, present a nicotine withdrawal syndrome: he cries more than normal and appears much more irritable and restless in the first weeks of life. According to a study carried out at the Brown Medical School in New York, babies of mothers who smoked six cigarettes a day during pregnancy show addictive symptoms within 48 hours of giving birth: they are nervous, touchy, tremble, and often suffer from intestinal problems and have high blood pressure.

Another benefit of quitting smoking is the prevention of learning disorders. Various studies have detected more hyperactivity and concentration problems in the children of women who smoked during pregnancy.

Tips to start a life without bad smoke

1. Seek support. 

You will have an ally in the doctor or obstetrician who can make things easier for you. Tell your partner, your friends, and your co-workers that you are leaving.

2. Set a day to quit. 

The sooner the better for the baby. Try to be very busy the first few days: it will be easier for you not to think about tobacco. Remove all objects related to tobacco (lighters, matches, ashtrays...) from your sight, both in the office and at home.

3. Play everything on one card. 

It is more difficult to smoke a little than to quit smoking completely. That's why it's better to leave it all at once.

4. Think positive.

 You have to know that you will stop feeling the most urgent need to smoke after ten to twelve days have passed. Mono symptoms are a sign that the body is recovering from tobacco use. In the first few days, it is normal to be more sensitive and irritable and have problems concentrating. It's okay, these symptoms will disappear.

5. Try modifying your daily routine.

 Avoid the bar on the corner, where you have always bought tobacco. Ask friends not to smoke in front of you. And you can replace the coffee cigarette with another new ritual, such as eating a cookie or drinking a new infusion instead of coffee.

6. Reward yourself for every day you haven't smoked. 

You deserve it, you are doing very well. Give yourself small tributes. If you save the tobacco money, you can buy a few more things for the baby or yourself.

7. Drink a lot and regularly. 

The best thing is water, tea, some infusion or juices, so you won't feel like eating. Anxiety leads to picking up a cigarette.

8. Try to move.

Fresh air and physical activity have a relaxing effect and improve mood.

9. Acupuncture. 

This traditional method can reduce the desire to smoke or even cause a strong rejection of tobacco. But without a firm will to quit, acupuncture does not put an end to the desire to smoke.

10. Psychological support. 

It is also important when the child is born to reinforce abstinence and avoid relapse after having achieved what seemed so difficult.

11. Live a healthy life, think about the baby, and rest. 

These are valid tips for any pregnant woman, but they are even more important when trying to overcome addiction.