Smoking during pregnancy faq

  My partner smokes – will this affect my unborn child?

Is it too late to stop? Isn’t the damage already done?

Smoking is harmful throughout your pregnancy. However, it’s never too late to stop as your body repairs itself very quickly. Stopping smoking will therefore benefit your baby immediately. When your lungs become smoke free, the carbon monoxide and chemicals clear from your body and your oxygen levels return to normal. Mothers who give up smoking in the first three months of pregnancy have a greatly reduced chance of their baby having low birth weight and all the problems associated with this.

My partner smokes – will this affect my unborn child?

If anyone smokes near you, you will be exposed to secondhand smoke. People exposed to secondhand smoke face the same dangers as smokers themselves. As such, you will inhale the same poisonous gases and thousands of toxic chemicals found in the tobacco smoke, making it dangerous for you and your baby.

Babies born to non-smoking mothers who are exposed to secondhand smoke are likely to weigh less at birth than those born to mothers who are not exposed. Following birth, babies who continue to live in a smoky environment have a higher risk of cot death.

Can I use Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) while pregnant?

If you’re pregnant and finding it difficult to give up smoking, you could try NRT. It’s important to talk it through with a health professional first, to help weigh up the risks to you and your baby of continuing to smoke against the benefits of stopping using NRT. Taking a short course of NRT is safer than continuing to smoke because, unlike cigarettes, NRT doesn’t contain tar, carbon monoxide or poisons, or cause cancer. Ask your doctor, midwife or NHS Stop Smoking Service adviser for advice before using NRT.

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