Effects of Smoking During Pregnancy
Smoking makes it more difficult for a woman to get pregnant, and women who smoke while pregnant are more likely to have a miscarriage or premature birth. Smoking can cause problems with the placenta, which alters the baby's food and oxygen supply. Smoking during pregnancy can cause a baby to have a low birth weight, which increases the likeliness that the baby will get sick and have to stay in the hospital longer, or even die. Smoking can also cause Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). SIDS is the death of a baby due to no immediately obvious cause. Babies born to mothers who smoked during their pregnancy are also more likely to have certain birth defects, such as a cleft lip, cleft palate, clubfoot, gastroschisis, or heart defects.