Smoking does not actually affect whether you have an easy birth or not. However, there are still certain risks you are taking by continuing to smoke throughout your pregnancy.

Smoking does not actually affect whether you have an easy birth or not. However, there are still certain risks you are taking by continuing to smoke throughout your pregnancy.

Evidence has shown that women who smoke whilst they are pregnant have a 25% higher risk of giving birth to a stillborn baby. The more cigarettes that are smoked, the higher the risk.

There is an 82% chance of giving birth to a baby with a lower birth weight. Many mothers wrongly believe that giving birth to a lighter baby will mean an easier birth, however this is by no means the case. Giving birth to a low-weight baby can bring with it no end of complications and health problems for the child.

Low-weight babies can be expected to have severe health problems such as breathing disorders, bronchitis and ear infections especially in the first two years of their life. They are more likely to be admitted into intensive care after being born and could even face being disabled. Some may even die shortly after birth.

According to statistics, 20 - 30% of the babies who are born with a low birth weight do so because their mother smoked throughout pregnancy. Giving birth to a low-weight baby may have long-lasting negative effects on the child's growth and development. A premature birth can also result in a low birth weight baby and smoking increases this risk by around 30%.

Low-weight babies usually weight around 250 g less than a normal and healthy baby. Newborns who weigh in at less than 5½ pounds could suffer from birth defects such as a cleft lip or a cleft palate. This is more likely if the mother smokes over 20 cigarettes a day. They could even be born with severe disabilities like cerebral palsy or they could have problems with their spinal cord, ears or eyes.

Low birth weight in a baby is caused by a restricted supply of oxygen, nutrients and food to the baby, which in turn hinders the correct development and growth of the foetus. This is all caused by smoking and the effects of the poisonous gases and chemicals found in the tobacco smoke that the mother inhales into her body and passes on to her baby.

What is more, all of these potential risks can be avoided simply by giving up smoking.

SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) otherwise known as "cot death" is when an apparently normal and healthy baby dies suddenly whilst sleeping.

When an expectant mother smokes during her pregnancy the risk of her baby dying from cot death is twice as high as that of a non-smoking mother. The risk may be increased even more if the mother is a heavy smoker.

There is also a risk of cot death when the baby is exposed to passive smoking at home, especially if both parents smoke (see section on passive smoking).

Smoking and breastfeeding

Many women who give up smoking for the duration of their pregnancy, start again almost immediately after the birth of their child.

If the mother decides to smoke and breastfeed her child, the baby can still be affected by the harmful effects of tobacco and other chemicals in the mother's bloodstream. The chemicals from the tobacco smoke enter the mother's breast milk and will therefore be passed into the baby upon feeding.

Breast milk will normally contain whatever is in the mother's body. Without a doubt, the more cigarettes the mother smokes, the higher the concentration of harmful substances is passed onto the child.

The amount of nicotine that is passed on to the baby depends on how many cigarettes the mother smokes, when she smokes in relation to feeding and the amount of time in between cigarettes. Nicotine is actually naturally present in breast milk and the baby will in fact, inhale more nicotine from breathing in the smoky air in a room rather than from the intake of the breast milk itself.

The baby may possibly suffer symptoms of vomiting, stomach cramps or diarrhoea if the mother is a heavy smoker and smoking more than 20 cigarettes a day may also reduce the mother's supply of breast milk. Nicotine reduces the amount of prolactin, which is a hormone that is needed in order to breastfeed. Mothers that smoke usually breastfeed for a shorter length of time overall.

Many children who have parents and especially mothers who smoke, may suffer severe breathing problems such as asthma, wheezing or bronchitis as they are growing up. Studies have shown that breastfeeding may reduce the severity of any of these illnesses.

Some studies do suggest however, that it is better for the child if the mother smokes and breastfeeds rather than smokes and bottle feeds. Obviously, the ideal would be not to smoke at all. However, if you do smoke and breastfeed, try to smoke after feeding rather than before, in a room that is separate from the baby, as this will reduce the amount of nicotine in the milk and the milk will taste much better. Research has discovered that a mother's breast milk contains the strongest flavour of tobacco between 30 - 60 minutes after smoking a cigarette.