It is estimated that 18 percent of pregnant women smoke during their pregnancies. Carbon monoxide and nicotine from tobacco smoke may interfere with the oxygen supply to the fetus. Nicotine also readily crosses the placenta, with concentrations in the fetus reaching as much as 15 percent higher than maternal levels. Nicotine concentrates in fetal blood, amniotic fluid, and breast milk. Combined, these factors can have severe consequences for the fetuses and infants of smoking mothers. Smoking during pregnancy caused an estimated 910 infant deaths annually from 1997 through 2001, and neonatal care costs related to smoking are estimated to be more than $350 million per year.
Adverse effects of smoking during pregnancy include:
- Fetal growth retardation
- Decreased birth weights
- Newborns with signs of stress and drug withdrawal
- Risk of spontaneous abortion
- Sudden infant death syndrome
- Learning problems in children
- Behavioral problems in children
- Increasing the risk that the affected child will become addicted to tobacco if that child starts smoking.
