MAKE THE DECISION TO QUIT FOR YOU AND YOUR BABY.
Getting pregnant can change the way you view things, and as a parent, your priority is for a healthy baby. The first step to making that happen can be a tough one—quit tobacco for good.
YOU CAN QUIT!
If you’re pregnant or planning to get pregnant, there’s still time to stop tobacco use. Quitting tobacco is important to your baby’s health and increases the chance of your baby being healthy for a lifetime.
It’s never too late to quit, and quitting improves the health of your baby—no matter when you quit! In fact, quitting tobacco during any stage of pregnancy can have an immediate positive impact on the health of you and your baby.
We know quitting is hard, and we’re here to help. Quit With Us, Louisiana offers even more quit resources and support for pregnant women to meet your particular needs.
- Seven sessions with Quit Coaches trained to address the special needs of pregnant women.
- All calls are completed with the same Quit Coach.
- Connection to community and national resources for continued quit support.
- A personalized quit plan and educational printed materials.
These expanded services continue for six months postpartum, after you deliver your baby, to help you stay quit while breastfeeding and taking care of your new baby!
HOW DOES TOBACCO EFFECT ME AND MY BABY?
Tobacco use during pregnancy can be harmful to both you and your baby.1 When you use tobacco while pregnant, toxic chemicals are passed from you to your developing baby.1
Tobacco use during pregnancy could:
- Lower the amount of oxygen for you and your baby.1
- Increase your baby’s heart rate.1
- Increase the chances of miscarriage and stillbirth.1
- Increase the risk that your baby is born prematurely.1
- Increase the risk that your baby is born with low birth weight.1
- Increase your baby’s risk of developing respiratory (lung) problems.1
- Increases risks of birth defects.1
- Increases risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.1
There is no “safe” level of tobacco use while pregnant. And the more cigarettes you smoke per day, the greater your baby’s chances of developing these and other health problems.
In addition, when you are pregnant, secondhand smoke can also increase your and your baby’s risk. To learn more about the effects of secondhand smoke, click here.
MORE THAN CIGARETTES
It doesn’t matter how you do it—smoke it, puff it, dip it, vape it—all tobacco products containing nicotine are not safe to use during pregnancy.2 Nicotine is harmful for pregnant women and developing babies and can damage a developing baby’s brain and lungs.2 Additionally, flavorings used in e-cigarettes may be harmful to a developing baby.2 To learn more about e-cigarettes during pregnancy, click here.
RESOURCES
1. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking: 50 Years of Progress. A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2014. Printed with corrections, January 2014.
2. Smoking During Pregnancy. (2020). Retrieved 31 July 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/health_effects/pregnancy/index.htm