Smoking while pregnant is dangerous for your baby.

Smoking while pregnant puts the unborn child at risk and many women know this. The full extent of the risk may not be known, however. Smoking while pregnant puts the child at risk for a long list of possible consequences. Your child may even suffer from negative effects if you inhale second hand smoke. So a mother really has to make sure that she is protecting not only herself, but her baby while she is carrying. There are many safe methods available to help you quit as well as support systems if you don't have support at home. Here are only a few of the possible effects smoking while pregnant can have on your child.

Were you aware of how much tar and nicotine you pass on to your baby each time you inhale? The second hand smoke you are passing on to your baby are damaging to its lungs in a number of ways. Complications are likely when lung damage has been caused. You probably didn't realize that all of those chemicals in your baby's blood stream from your smoking can cause the oxygen to be displaced or bound in some reactions. In order for us to live we have to have oxygen and babies need it to develop correctly too,

Infants of smoking mothers are displaying an interesting trend. The babies in this category tend to have a higher heart rate than babies whose mothers did not smoke. A baby born to a smoking mother will have a heart rate that is about 30% higher than a baby whose mother doesn't smoke. This specifically about women who smoked while pregnant. It is difficult to know the exact cause of this condition. Part of the reason may be that the smoking prevented the baby from receiving the normal amount of oxygen.

Every parent wants their child to do well in life, including academically. Your child's brain can be negatively impacted if you smoke during pregnancy. This is because smoking causes the baby to receive insufficient amounts of oxygen from the mother. The exact effects your child will suffer later in life are difficult to determine. But smoking during pregnancy has been linked to a wide range of learning problems in children.

If you quit smoking you eliminate the risk of your child suffering from the many problems associated with smoking during pregnancy. It really is pretty cut and dry, black and white. For more motivation to quit, research and learn more about what could happen to your child if you don't quit. Still births and a higher risk of SIDS are some of the most serious risks. Everyone can agree that smoking during pregnancy is extremely harmful and potentially debilitating on the baby and child.