Stop smoking

• Men have a lower sperm count and a higher proportion of malformed sperm
• Women take longer to conceive
• Women are twice as likely to be infertile compared with non-smokers
• Men and women have a poorer response to fertility treatment

The good news is that having stopped smoking women take no longer to become pregnant than women who have never smoked, and stopping smoking improves sperm count and quality.

• Increases the risk of ectopic pregnancy
• Increases the risk of miscarriage
• Smokers are three times more likely to have a low birth weight baby (their organs are smaller on average than babies born to non- smokers)
• Babies are more likely to be born prematurely and with a low birth weight (below 2.5kg) Low birth weight is one of the leading causes of infant illness, disability and death
• Smoking appears to double a woman’s risk of developing placental problems such as placenta praevia and placental abruption.
• Premature rupture of the membranes may be due to vasoconstriction which may lead to mechanical stress that could disrupt the integrity of the membranes
• Increases the risk of fetal malformations, such as cleft lip and palate

The effects of stopping smoking:

• Stopping smoking before pregnancy greatly reduces these risks.
• Stopping in the first half of the pregnancy greatly reduces the risk of a low baby birth weight
• Stopping at any stage of pregnancy gives proportional health benefits
• Every cigarette smoked reduces the oxygen supply to the fetus for 20 minutes – so even just three a day means the fetus has had a reduction of oxygen for 1 hour that day alone

Babies born to parents who smoke:

• Are at an increased risk of cot death – 3 times more likely
• Have a poorer lung function
• Are more at risk of developing asthma or have an increase in the severity of attacks if already affected
• Are at an increased risk of middle ear diseases
• Are likely to be smaller and lighter as children and more prone to infections
• Are more likely to become smokers themselves

Additionally:

• Evidence suggests a link with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)  (Nicotine being a stimulant could mean that babies are born with a heightened state of ‘normality’)
• Mothers who smoke are less likely to breastfeed or if they do then feed for a shorter length of time, they produce less milk and of a poorer quality

If you are thinking about quitting, contact your midwife who will refer you for specialist advice, support and treatment.

Our Smoking Cessastion Service provides extremely flexible and accessible support to help every smoker quit. A suitable appointment can arranged with one of our advisers at a pharmacy or GP surgery.

Stopping smoking is probably the most effective single step a pregnant woman can take to improve her own health and that of her baby. However it can be one of the hardest times to quit as a pregnant women’s metabolism is higher and therefore they need more nicotine. Nicotine is a stimulant and is very addictive.

Pregnant women can have Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT). Ideally it would be better for them to stop smoking without the need for NRT but since there are about 4000 chemicals in one cigarette, the use of NRT is preferred to continuing to smoke. NRT should be used within therapeutic doses.