Smoking affects every aspect of pregnancy including fertility, conception, development of the fetus, labor, and growth during childhood. If you are planning to have a baby, the time to quit smoking is before you get pregnant. The main consequence of smoking during pregnancy is low birth weight. Studies show that children who are born with low birth weight are on the average shorter, have more respiratory problems, and experience more difficulty in school than children of non-smoking mothers. Cigarette smoking interferes with the blood supply to the fetus, and less oxygen and nutrients are supplied through the placenta.
Several toxins enter the maturing baby's blood including carbon monoxide, nicotine and cyanide.
Even breathing smoke from other smokers can have adverse on the fetus, so try to persuade people to smoke elsewhere when in your company. Click here for information about how to quit smoking . Coffee, tea, chocolate, some cola drinks, and some medications contain caffeine. Animal experiments have shown that high doses of caffeine may cause birth defects in rats. There are no proven cases in humans.