Quitting Smoking Before 15th Week of Pregnancy Reduces Risk

When a woman smokes cigarettes while pregnant, her risk of a low-birthweight baby, premature birth, miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, stillbirth and neonatal death increases. According to the March of Dimes, smoking nearly doubles a woman's risk of having a low-birthweight baby, which leads to an increased risk of serious health problems. A recent study has found that pregnant women who quit smoking prior to their 15th week of pregnancy lower their risk of birth problems, including premature birth and a low-birthweight, to that of women who did not smoke at all. The March of Dimes, along with other organizations and most doctors, recommend that women stop smoking before they become pregnant and do not smoke throughout pregnancy and after the baby is born. According to the study, women who do not quit smoking by week 15 are about two times as likely to have smaller babies and three times more likely to deliver prematurely than women who quit. For the study, Dr. Lesley McCowan, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, along with colleagues, compiled information on 2,504 expecting women. About 80 percent of the study participants did not smoke, while 10 percent had quit smoking and 10 percent continued to smoke throughout their pregnancy. The rate of spontaneous premature birth and smaller babies was the same for the women that did not smoke at all and those that had quit before their 15th week of pregnancy. As for those women that continued to smoke, there was a higher rate of spontaneous preterm birth and smaller babies than those who had quit.

This was the first study to determine whether a woman could reduce her risk of problems if she quit smoking early on in her pregnancy. Another finding of the study, which was published in peer reviewed medical journal BMJ, was that women that had quit smoking did not experience more stress than those that continued to smoke. For many smokers, it is extremely difficult to quit, so joining a support group or other program may be helpful. If a woman is unable to quit smoking during her pregnancy and continues to smoke after giving birth, she puts her baby at greater risk of developing asthma, pneumonia and other respiratory problems, as well as SIDS, or sudden infant death syndrome. The same is true if there are any smokers living in a household with babies or children, since exposure to cigarette smoke increases the risk of these problems. Although smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of premature birth and low birthweight, some birth injuries may be preventable. If your child has suffered a birth injury that may have been preventable, please call or e-mail us today. Our experienced attorneys have helped clients with Manhattan birth injury, Bronx birth injury, Brooklyn birth injury, Queens birth injury, Nassau birth injury and Suffolk birth injury cases. Call or send an instant inquiry today and we will evaluate your case for FREE.

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