Smoking and your unborn baby
Protecting your baby from tobacco smoke is one of the best things you can do to give your child a healthy start in life. It can be difficult to stop smoking, but it's never too late to quit.
Every cigarette you smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals, many of which are dangerous, so smoking when you are pregnant harms your unborn baby. Cigarettes can restrict the essential oxygen supply to your baby. As a result, their heart must beat harder every time you smoke.
At your first appointment with your Midwife you will be asked to do a simple breath test for carbon monoxide (CO). CO is a toxic gas released from tobacco smoke, exhaust fumes and faulty gas appliances. CO is extremely harmful to you and your baby:
• Each time you smoke your baby is deprived of the oxygen which they need to grow, for about 20 minutes
• It deprives your muscles, brain and body tissues of oxygen
• It damages your placenta
• It restricts the oxygen supply to your baby
• It can lead to poor growth, premature birth and still birth
