Smoking..Any physical symptoms at birth?

[Cicho]

Hi Again

I am curious. Are there any physical signs on a newborn that the mother smoked whilst pregnant?

I know some mums will not tell the midwives because they feel bad.. But can they still tell anyway?

I don't smoke but do enjoy a coffee!

Thanks everyone :)

[RoarsomeMum]

Hi Again

I am curious. Are there any physical signs on a newborn that the mother smoked whilst pregnant?

I know some mums will not tell the midwives because they feel bad.. But can they still tell anyway?

I don't smoke but do enjoy a coffee!

Thanks everyone :)

If your a regular smoker, your Placenta will look Horrid.. Grey and nasty.

(Guess it could also look like that if it was old, diseased or dying for another reason thou?)

Roar had no noticable Withdrawal. Fed Well, slept well, settled well.

Middie will Generally Smell Ciggarette smoke on Mum anyway, even if she has not smoked that day. Clings to your hair and clothes.

So YES.. I think there are noticable Signs and the Middies would know if they were told or not.

[Electric Rodeo]

A gritty, crusty placenta can be a sign of smoking (though can be signs of other things too).

My placenta looked like this when DS2 was born and it came out in pieces. The first thing my OB asked was "I didn't know you smoked".
I hadn't touched a cigarette for years so it wasn't the reason but the ob and middies thought it was.

[Cicho]

Thanks for the info girls :hugs:

[NibbleCurlynBub]

:yes: The placenta is a dead give-away.

There are a lot of other things that can be affected by smoking during pregnancy but can't really be blamed on the smoking outright.

[Baldie's Mum]

My cousin has 3 children. the eldest she didnt smoke through. the middle was a twin, the twin died and the surviving one had a 3rd ear.....it was removed at birth. The yougest has a small tumor in her neck. Not dangerous.....but still obvious. My cousin smoked in the 2nd and 3rd pregnancies. So...maybe coincidence, but maybe from smoking. :confused:

[naiwen]

Placenta, also low birthweight baby and a baby with breathing issues can all be symptoms of a mums who smokes during pregnancy.

[bronny-jane]

im a heavy smoker, all the placentas were normal..
no issues at all...
they were all similar weights smallest 7lbs5 biggest 7lbs15

my friend had a 9 pounder...bordering on 10.. heavy smoker.. so they arent always small

my family has small babies.. my sister didnt smoke ever, hers were 6lbs ers;)

they say they will cry more, from withdrawal... but mine were fine.

[jaesmummy]

Sadly admit that I smoked through all my pregnancies. Not heavily, about 7 low strength a day. My placentas were all intact and perfectly healthy and babies all normal. Maybe I just got lucky. My last baby though did have bronchialitis 4 times in 9 months and the doctor asked who in the family was the asthmatic (my hubby is). She said its too early to diagnose asthma but she predicted that he will develop it in a few years. Even though she didn't blame it on smoking, I still am sure that I am partially to blame.

[Cicho]

Thank You for all your responses :hugs:

[Sina]

I smoked through my first pregnancy and DD was 6pound7, I thought it was from the smoking. She was and is super healthy. So before my second pregnancy I quit, DS was 7pound4, I guess I just have small bubs...
I hadn't heard about the placenta being discoloured etc. both of mine were normal?
Its definitely interesting.

[Lunar]

Apart from what others have already said, there is more chance of your child becoming asthmatic, have frequent chest infections. May not show up right away, might take a year or more.

Also, caffeine has it's down falls too. It can take a fetus up to 100 hours to digest caffeine that is passed through the placenta... something else to think about.

[SomewhereOverTheRainbow]

My ex's mother smoked when pregnant with him and although he was a normal weight etc he had learning difficulties at school and also ADHD. :no:

Every cigarette the mother smokes the baby also smokes, so just imagine what it is doing to them...even babies that look OK and are a normal birthweight will more than likely have other problems or genetic damage that is hard to detect. Every cigarette contains over 4,000 chemicals and we only know a handful of their effects. :yes:

Babies born to mothers who smoke, or who smoked when pregnant are a lot more likely to die of SIDS after birth. There is also evidence that children of smokers have higher rates of childhood cancers, and of course asthma and other respiratory conditions.

The rates of miscarriage and stillbirth are much higher too. I know a woman who had a stillborn baby 20 yrs ago and was told that it was most likely caused by her smoking. Just as smoking causes your lungs to blacken it does the same thing to the babes placenta, and causes it to slowly die. Most babies born to mothers who smoke will have grey, sluggish placentas that don't allow the baby as much oxygen or nutrients as it should get. Even if they 'look' normal, there is usually microscopic damage to the placental cells. Which is why a lot of smokers have small babies.

[SorenLorensen]

a friend of ours said that she was not smoking and when she delivered her placenta the first thing the midwife said to her was "so much for no smoking" and showed her the placenta.
it was horrid, not exactly what one would want for the life line of their bub.

[ck2b]

I can second the gross placenta's, espically when you compare them to a healthy one-not that I smoke but I have seen them. As for smoking when pregnant. Would you give you newborn a cigerette? Or inject them with the chemicals of a cigerette?
I always figure that when you decide to have a baby you decide to sacrafice so much and if you can't give up smoking for the health of you unborn child, how will you be when they get here and really turn your world upside down?
Sorry to rave on....I just think smoking when your pregnant is a really selfish thing to do.:no:
Don't even get me started on drinking!!!!

[AM]

I'm a non-smoker, but my first placenta was calcified as a result of unthinking passive smoking at my workplace, it was shocking actually, has made me SO paranoid about cigarette smoke now...

[StrangeFruit]

My MIL was a heavy smoker throughout her pregnancy with DH.

Dh is infertile (thus our IVF path) and to be honest i blame her smoking 100% for this .

[MyFourCubs]

My ex's mother smoked when pregnant with him and although he was a normal weight etc he had learning difficulties at school and also ADHD. :no:

Every cigarette the mother smokes the baby also smokes, so just imagine what it is doing to them...even babies that look OK and are a normal birthweight will more than likely have other problems or genetic damage that is hard to detect. Every cigarette contains over 4,000 chemicals and we only know a handful of their effects. :yes:

Babies born to mothers who smoke, or who smoked when pregnant are a lot more likely to die of SIDS after birth. There is also evidence that children of smokers have higher rates of childhood cancers, and of course asthma and other respiratory conditions.

The rates of miscarriage and stillbirth are much higher too. I know a woman who had a stillborn baby 20 yrs ago and was told that it was most likely caused by her smoking. Just as smoking causes your lungs to blacken it does the same thing to the babes placenta, and causes it to slowly die. Most babies born to mothers who smoke will have grey, sluggish placentas that don't allow the baby as much oxygen or nutrients as it should get. Even if they 'look' normal, there is usually microscopic damage to the placental cells. Which is why a lot of smokers have small babies.

:iagree: Hallelujah Nic, glad someone had the guts to say it and I couldn't have said it better. I can't believe in this day and age with the knowlege that we have that anybody willingly smokes "heavily" through their pregnancies. :no:

[ButterflyKissesX]

I dont wont to hyjack this thread but seeing were on the smoking bandwagon I was wondering if anyone knows if a mother that smokes previous to becoming pregnant can harm the baby or placenta at all.

I was a heavy smoker up until the day we started TTC and havnt looked back but I feel pregnant in the 2nd month and have been worried if my smoking before hand can affect my baby???? God I hope not

[SomewhereOverTheRainbow]

I dont wont to hyjack this thread but seeing were on the smoking bandwagon I was wondering if anyone knows if a mother that smokes previous to becoming pregnant can harm the baby or placenta at all.

I was a heavy smoker up until the day we started TTC and havnt looked back but I feel pregnant in the 2nd month and have been worried if my smoking before hand can affect my baby???? God I hope not

I'm not sure TBH butterfly. I would *think* that by the 2nd month most of the chemicals from the cigarettes would be out of your bloodstream and not able to be passed to your bub etc...but I'm not sure. Maybe ask a midwife. I would think it wouldn't affect bub too much?
But as you probably know you have done a wonderful wonderful thing for your bub by giving up when you did! :yes:

[lisacotter]

I am ashamed to admit I am a smoker and though i have tried to give up i just cant seem to kick the habbit..... i can last 2 or 3 days but i just get so cranky and cant stop thinking about it and stress my self out so i start again.... its a horrible cycle ! wish id never started....

But I have had 3 children and im now pregnant 28 weeks with my 4th and have never seen any thing different.... my plac. has always been a nice healthy color and has always been intact... my children have all been healthy no breathing problems at all.... My first pregnancy in 1996 was fine and normal I was 2 weeks overdue and he was 8 pounds 13 when born .... in 2002 I had lapbanding done to loose weight I weighed 155kgs and I have lost 67kgs so my children since then have been small but due to the fact I just cant eat like normal ppl i eat the size of a egg ect.... My second son Joel was born fine he was 5.95 pounds , and Joshua my 3rd son was 2.2kgs though he was 7 weeks early I had my waters break at 32 weeks and then got stuck in hospital I then got a infection in the waters so they induced me at 34 weeks..... though they thought they got my dates wrong as he sucked and swallowed and screamed straight away, kept body heat and did things a full term baby did when at 34 weeks he wouldnt of been able to do it.... i got him home 3 weeks later and in hospital he lost weight in 3 days with him home he had put on 500g lol hes now one chubby bubby... well 1 year old.

I do know smoking can put stress on the babies and on there heart rate... it can also cause some to go into labor early .... but my children have all been very healthy though i do feel guilty that my bad habbit could cause them problems....