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Women and Smoking

Smoking and Pregnancy

TRYING TO CONCEIVE?

Research shows that cigarette smoking is harmful to a woman's ovaries. It can cause a woman's eggs to be more prone to genetic abnormality and increase the risk of spontaneous miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy.3

Women who smoke take longer to conceive. Among smokers, the chances of conceiving fall by up to 40 per cent per cycle.15 The more cigarettes you smoke the longer it takes to become pregnant. Just one cigarette a day can have a significant impact.

Stopping smoking can reduce the risk of erectile dysfunction and may improve sexual potency.3

RISKS YOU CAN LESSEN IF YOU QUIT SMOKING

  • Harming ovaries
  • genetic abnormalities
  • miscarriages
  • ectopic pregnancy 3
  • IVF attempts. 23,24

Stopping smoking increases the success of fertility treatment.

There is a reduction in the likelihood of the embryo implanting compared to non-smokers, and nearly twice as many IVF attempts may be required to conceive in smokers.23,24 Breathing in secondary smoke can cause nearly as much harm as a woman smoking herself.25

So if you want a family it is important that both you and your partner quit smoking. It often helps if you stop together so you can support each other, especially at the difficult times. Smokers who get support from partners and other people are more likely to successfully quit.26

PREGNANCY

Like every mum-to-be you want to have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby. The best way to ensure this is not to smoke and avoid all smoking dangers.

Smoking during pregnancy harms you and it harms your baby.

THE SMOKING DANGERS YOU CAN AVOID IF YOU QUIT SMOKING

  • Poisonous chemicals in cigarette smoke passing through your body into your baby.
  • Cigarette smoke disrupting the flow of blood to your baby.27
  • Prenatal passive smoking influences placental and fetal development, reduces birth weight, and affects lung and brain development.
  • A smaller, weaker baby that will be more prone to infections and illness.
  • An increased risk of breathlessness and wheezing in young babies.29
  • Increased risk of congenital defects such as cleft lip and/or palate or limb deformities. 30

 

Don't despair you can get one-to-one telephone counselling support throughout your pregnancy Ring the NHS Pregnancy Smoking Helpline NOW: 0800 169 9 169.

The good news is that stopping smoking at any stage of pregnancy is beneficial. The moment you quit you start increasing your chances of a healthier pregnancy and a healthier baby. You will have more energy, be able to cope better with pregnancy, and know you are doing the best for your unborn baby.

PASSIVE SMOKING

Passive smoking is equally dangerous for your unborn baby. If your family or friends smoke near you, you will breathe in harmful gases and chemicals and pass them onto your baby.

Your partner, family and friends can all help you during your pregnancy by not smoking around you. They might even want to quit - advise them to call QUIT on 0800 00 22 00 for friendly one-to-one support.

MAKING YOUR HOME SMOKEFREE

A smokefree home is a healthy home

Children growing up in a smoke free home are less likely to catch colds, coughs and bugs. And you will reduce the risk of serious problems like cot death, asthma, chest infections, and glue ear.3

It is not only your children who will benefit from a smoke free home. You and your partner will feel healthier, should have fewer coughs and colds, and have more energy to run around and play with your children.

To find out more about quitting and making your home smokefree call the Quitline 0800 00 22 00 and speak to a QUIT counsellor.

Thanks to

Gay Sutherland, Research Psychologist at the Tobacco Research Unit, King's College London University and Hon. Consultant Clinical Psychologist at the South London & Maudsley NHS Trust Smoking Cessation Clinic.

Robert West, Professor of Health Psychology and Director of Tobacco Studies at the Cancer Research UK Health Behaviour Unit, University College London.

References

  1. British Medical Association (BMA)Tobacco Control Resource Centre. Smoking and women's reproductive health: a review for gynaecologists and obstetricians 2006. www.doctorsandtobacco.org Last accessed June 2007.
  2. British Medical Association (BMA)Tobacco Control Resource Centre Smoking and the endocrine system: a review for endocrinologists 2006 www.doctorsandtobacco.org Last accessed June 2007.
  3. BMA report: Smoking and Reproductive Life: the impact of smoking on sexual, reproductive and child health. FACT FILE 2004 www.doctorsandtobacco.org/files/qresources/58-1.pdf. Last accessed June 2007.
  4. Action on smoking and Health (ASH) Factsheet 10: How smoking affects the way you look. August 2004.
  5. Koh JS, Kang H, Choi SW, et al. Cigarette smoking associated with premature facial wrinkling: image analysis of facial skin replicas. International Journal of Dermatology 2002; 41,21-27.
  6. Factsheet 11: Stopping smoking: the benefits and aids to quitting. March 2001.
  7. Smoking In-Depth Report. In-depth from A.D.A.M. 7 Feb 2007. Last accessed 13 Sept 2007.
  8. WHO The smoker's body. Creating Health. Geneva 2002. www.wpro.who.int/NR/rdonlyres/D50F2998-BF98-43C2-825E-3D24ABFDB91C/0/smoker.pdf Last accessed June 2007.
  9. The Non-Smokers' Movement of Australia NSW Quit Campaign - Fact Sheet 5 - SMOKING AND FITNESS www.nsma.org.au/facts/fitness.htm Last accessed June 2007.
  10. June Russell's Health Facts www.jrussellshealth.com/smokwomen.html Last accessed June 2007.
  11. British Medical Association report: Smoking and Reproductive Life: the impact of smoking on sexual, reproductive and child health. 2004.
  12. Felman et al. The association of smoking and risk of condyloma acuminatum in women. Obstetrics and gynaecology 1997 Mar; 89(3): 346-350.
  13. US Department of Health and Human Services (2001) Smoking and women's health. A report of the surgeon general, Rockville: USDHHS.
  14. ASH Factsheet 7: Smoking, sex and reproduction. September 2006.
  15. Preshaw PM et al. The effect of quitting smoking on chronic periodonitis. J Clin Periodontol. 2005 Aug.;32(8):869-79.
  16. National Osteoporosis Society. What is osteoporosis? www.nos.org.uk/about.html Last accessed June 2007.
  17. Bump RC and McClish DK. Cigarette smoking and urinary incontinence in women. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 1992 Nov; 167(5):1213-8.
  18. Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) factsheet 27: Smoking and eye disease. September 2005. www.ash.org.uk. Last accessed June 2007.
  19. Cancer Research UK. Lung cancer at a glance. http://info.cancerresearchuk.org/cancerandresearch/cancers/lung/ Last accessed June 2007.
  20. British Heart Foundation (BHF) Women and heart attacks. www.bhf.org.uk/. Last accessed June 2007.
  21. ASH USA http://no-smoking.org/may02/05-10-02-2.html. Last accessed June 2007.
  22. Neal M et al. Sidestream smoking is equally as damaging as mainstream smoking on IVF outcomes. Human Reproduction 2005; 20: 2531-35.
  23. American society for reproductive medicine. Patient factsheet: Smoking and infertility. Nov 2003.
  24. Lintsen,A et al Effects of subfertility cause, smoking and body weight on the success rates of IVF. Human Reproduction 2005; 20 (7): 1867-75.
  25. Park E-W et al . Does enhancing partner support and interaction improve smoking cessation? Annals Of Family Medicine 2004 March/April;2(2):170-174.
  26. Gosmokefree www.gosmokefree.co.uk/whygosmokefree/smokingpregnancy/index.php Last accessed June 2007.
  27. Hofhuis W et al. Adverse health effects of prenatal and postnatal tobacco smoke exposure on children Arch. Dis. Child. 2003;88;1086-1090.
  28. Asthma and wheezing in the first years of life. An information paper for health professionals. Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing. www.nationalasthma.org.au/. Last accessed June 2007.
  29. Kallen K. Maternal smoking and orofacial clefts. Cleft Palate-Craniofacial J 1997; 34: 11-14.
  30. Report of the Scientific Committee on Tobacco and Health. 6.4 Smoking and congenital defects. London: The Stationery Office, 1998.

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Smoking in your 30s and 40s

Smoking and pregnancy

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