Tobacco Cessation: Not Smoking - Infants and Secondhand Smoke
As a new mother, you want to protect your baby from all things considered harmful to their health. With all of the other things you have to worry about, you may not have considered how harmful secondhand smoke can be to your new baby. Infants exposed to secondhand smoke are at risk for a number of health problems.
Asthma: Smoking in the home during the first few years of a child's life also increases the risk of developing asthma in your otherwise healthy child. Also, smoke is known to trigger attacks in people who already have asthma.
Pneumonia: Infants whose are exposed to secondhand smoke are more likely to be hospitalized for pneumonia during their first year of life than babies of non-smoking mothers. Smoking is also linked to infections of the lower respiratory tract (the lungs and lower airways) in infants under 18 months which can require hospitalization. Secondhand smoke also increases the risk for developing lung cancer in the future.
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS): Babies who are exposed to cigarette smoke after birth may face an increased risk of death. The incidence of sudden infant death syndrome quadruples if either mother or both parents are smokers.
All of these risks are higher if the baby is breast-fed by a smoking mother rather than just exposed to smoke in the household. Nicotine gets into the breast milk of a smoking mother. Nicotine can decrease the quantity of milk as well as affect the breast milk's quality and the ease of feeding. In addition, babies exposed to tobacco through breast milk have higher levels of nicotine wastes in the urine than babies only exposed to secondhand smoke.
As a parent, you can limit your children's exposure to secondhand smoke. As always, the first and most important steps should begin at home-by quitting smoking yourself, if you are a smoker. Quitting is seldom easy, but it is possible. Smoking-cessation counseling and programs and Nicotine Replacement Therapy are available. Talk with your personal care physician (PCP) about your stop-smoking options.
When you make the choice to not smoke around your baby, the same rule should apply to everyone else around your child. Ask friends and family members not to smoke in the presence of your infant. Also, make sure you are aware of the smoking status of all childcare providers. Remember that children exposed to secondhand smoke are at risk of illness. Protect your children from secondhand smoke. Their health depends on it.
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