Smoking in Pregnancy

Dr Deepika Tiwari, Gynecologist, Gurgaon 
www.gurgaongynae.in
http://www.drdeepikatiwari.blogspot.com/
http://www.deepikatiwari.com/


If you smoke and you are pregnant, or planning to become pregnant, you are strongly advised to stop smoking.
Smoking when you are pregnant increases the risk of: miscarriage; slowing the growth of the baby leading to a low birthweight; premature labour leading to the baby being premature (prem); stillbirth.
Even after the birth, children of smoking parents have an increased risk of developing chest infections, asthma, glue ear, and sudden infant death syndrome (cot death).

You and your baby will get most benefit, and the risks will be most reduced, if you stop before you become pregnant. Planning to become pregnant is a good incentive to stop smoking for many women, and is often a good time to persuade partners to give up too.

Maternal smoking linked to higher incidence of congenital heart defects in offsprings

Maternal cigarette smoking in the first trimester was associated with a 20 to 70 percent greater likelihood that a baby would be born with certain types of congenital heart defects, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Congenital heart defects are the most common type of birth defects, contributing to approximately 30 percent of infant deaths from birth defects annually.
read more....
http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2011/p0228_smokingpregnancy.html?source=govdelivery