Pregnancy and Smoking

 I'm 5 weeks pregnant, I used to smoke 1 pack of cigarettes a day, now that I'm pregnant I smoke from 7 to 8 cigarettes per day and also I changed to a lighter brand. I would like to know the affect of my smoking on my baby.

I am proud of you for cutting your cigarettes down to 7-8 per day. But, I am sorry to say, that this is just not good enough. Even one cigarette per day is ONE TOO MANY. Nicotine is a poison, and it crosses the placenta. Carbon monoxide levels are elevated in smokers, and carbon monoxide blocks oxygen transport. People suffocate in their own homes from carbon monoxide poisoning due to faulty furnaces. Smokers have higher rates of infertility, miscarriage, premature birth and underweight babies. These babies have smaller brains at birth.

There is no easy way around this. If you smoke, you are playing Russian Roulette with your baby's health -- although everything may work out all right despite what you are doing. Instead, you should DO THE RIGHT THING, and quit, right now, and DON'T RESUME it after the delivery. Do you want your child to be a smoker? If not, then don't raise a kid in a smoking home? GOOD LUCK.