Giving smoking up should be one of your prime concerns if you are thinking about having a child.
The best time to quit is before you become pregnant.
If you are already pregnant, quit now.
There are many reasons for giving smoking up if you are planning on having a baby, I list some of these reasons below.
1.
If you smoke during pregnancy you are more likely to miscarry.
2.
Smoking in pregnancy can cause the baby to be born prematurely, before the lungs are fully developed, thus causing breathing problems in infancy.
3.
Babies born to smoking mums often weigh less than those born to non-smoking mothers.
Underweight babies normally suffer more health problems.
4.
Smoking during pregnancy often results in stunted growth of the child.
5.
Nicotine gets into breast milk and therefore into the baby.
6.
Their is a much higher incidence of cot deaths in the babies of smoking parents.
7.
Babies born to smoking parents are much more likely to become smokers themselves later in life.
If you are not yet pregnant, both yourself and your partner, if he is a smoker, should seriously consider giving smoking up.
Smokers are a lot less fertile than non-smokers, in fact male smokers tend to have a sperm count that is 15% lower than that of a non-smoking male.
If you have been trying for a baby without success and are now considering IVF treatment, this too is a lot more successful among non-smokers.
As well as giving smoking up yourself, you should whenever possible avoid other smokers during your pregnancy as babies in the womb can suffer the effects of passive smoking.
If you are breathing in the smoke of other people, you are automatically passing that on to your unborn child.