The effects of smoking during pregnancy could have short-term and long-term consequences. It has been associated with increased risk of low birth weight, intrauterine growth retardation, and increased infant mortality rate. Smoking can make it harder for you to get pregnant because it increases the risk of fertility problems for both you and your partner. Maternal smoking, while pregnant, could cause severe harm to your health and that of the baby. Mothers who expose their babies to secondhand smoking also put their health and development at risk.
Impact of Maternal Smoking on You and the Unborn Baby Even after a full-term pregnancy, babies born to smoking mothers could be born too small. Maternal smoking slows the fetus’ growth before birth. It could also lead to premature birth, where the baby is born too early. Babies born three weeks or more before the due date are premature.…
