Fact Sheet - Tobacco & Pregnancy

 

• Cigarette smoking during pregnancy increases the risk for infertility, preterm delivery, stillbirth, low birth weight, and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

 

• The nicotine in cigarettes may constrict the blood vessels of the umbilical cord and uterus, thereby decreasing the amount of oxygen available to the fetus.

 

• A Report of the Surgeon General states that in 2001, 17.5% of teenage mothers smoked during pregnancy. Only 18% to 25% of all women quit smoking once they become pregnant.

 

• The risk for having a baby in the smallest 5% to 10% percentile range of birth weights is as high as 2.5 times greater for pregnant women who smoke compared to nonsmokers.

• Smoking impairs a woman's ability to become pregnant. Women who smoke are more likely to experience conception delay and to be afflicted with both primary and secondary infertility.

• Women who smoke may have a modest increase in risks for ectopic pregnancy (Fallopian tube or peritoneal cavity pregnancy) and spontaneous abortion (miscarriage).

• Smoking during pregnancy has been linked to 10% of all infant deaths.

• Because their lungs are not fully developed, young children are particularly susceptible to secondhand smoke. Exposure to secondhand smoke is associated with an increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), asthma, bronchitis, and pneumonia in young children.

• Smoking is the greatest single cause of premature birth and low birth weight.

• It is estimated that roughly 24% of women in Kentucky smoke during pregnancy.

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