Not all of the information may be pertinent to your family's life-style. This information is general in nature, and not intended to be advice, medical or otherwise. If you have additional breastfeeding problems or concerns, you may want to talk to a La Leche League Leader directly. Please consult health-care professionals on any medical issue, as La Leche League Leaders are not medical practitioners. Today, most people are aware of the health risks associated with cigarette smoking, both for the smoker and those around them.
Pregnancy is often a good incentive for a woman to cut down or quit entirely.
If a mother smokes cigarettes, her baby can still enjoy the benefits of breastfeeding. When a breastfeeding mother smokes more than twenty to thirty cigarettes a day, the risks increase. Heavy smoking can reduce a mother's milk supply and on rare occasions has caused symptoms in the breastfeeding baby such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea. By keeping smoking to a minimum, a mother can decrease the risk. When a mother smokes a cigarette, the nicotine levels in her blood and milk first increase and then decrease over time.