Church Partnership Newsletter October 2014 | Page 5

Smoking, Alcohol, Drugs, and Pregnancy
Smoking
Smoking cigarettes is very harmful to anyone's health and could also affect the health of babies. Not only does
smoking cause cancer and heart disease in people who smoke, smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of low
birth weight. Low birth weight babies are at higher risk of health problems shortly after birth. Also, some studies
have linked low birth weight with a higher risk of health problems later in life, such as high blood pressure and
diabetes. Women who smoke during pregnancy are more likely than other women to have a miscarriage and to
have a baby born with cleft lip or palate, types of birth defects. Also, mothers who
smoke during or after pregnancy put their babies at greater risk of sudden infant
death syndrome (SIDS).
Mothers who smoke have many reasons to quit smoking. They should take care of
their health and the health of their unborn baby by asking their doctor about ways
to help quit during pregnancy. Intensive counseling has been shown to increase a pregnant woman’s chances of
quitting success. It is unknown whether the drugs used to help people quit are safe to use during pregnancy, but it
is known that continuing to smoke during pregnancy threatens the health of both mom and baby. Quitting smoking
is hard, but it can be done with help!
Substance Abuse
Using alcohol and illegal drugs during pregnancy threatens the health of your unborn baby. So does using legal
drugs in an inappropriate way. Pregnant women use alcohol or drugs, the chemicals you ingest or breathe into your
lungs cross the placenta and enter your baby. This puts your baby at risk for such problems as stillbirth, low birth
weight, birth defects, behavioral problems, and developmental delays.
Alcohol
When a pregnant woman drinks alcohol, her unborn baby does too. Pregnant women should not drink alcohol to
help avoid the chance of giving