Not only is maternal smoking during pregnancy linked to low birth weight babies and preterm labor, but now researchers have found that children of women who smoke during pregnancy are more likely to become smokers themselves. Even if the mother quits before her children reach school-age (and presumably become aware of their mother’s smoking), children of mothers who smoke during pregnancy are more likely to be regular smokers at age 22. Researchers from the University of Arizona College of Medicine found that the impact of maternal smoking was independent of paternal smoking and also the effect of peer smoking during the offspring’s adolescence. Read more about the study. Provide copies of this helpful handout from the March of Dimes for smokers in your childbirth classes.
You know I hesitated about even posting information about this study because I feel exactly as you do. But as recently as 2007, the estimates was that 1 in 10 pregnant women were still smoking. I wonder if knowing that you are increasing the risk that your child will have the same addiction is enough to help a woman to quit.
It’s amazing to me that this continues to be an issue..meaning, why anyone with the information available to us now would smoke during pregnancy is a mystery. The same goes with smoking in a car or a house with children inside. I just don’t get it!