The safest way to quit smoking during pregnancy is without the aid of medication. Start by consulting your health care provider for advice or seeking counseling. Then consider these practical tips:.
List the reasons you want to quit, such as protecting your baby's health. Get rid of all smoking materials.
Avoid situations that make you want to smoke. Spend time with people who don't smoke, and visit places where smoking isn't allowed. Wait out cravings by running an errand or eating a healthy snack. With your health care provider's OK, use physical activity to manage withdrawal symptoms. Make sure you have someone you can talk to for support. Set a goal and create a reward for meeting it.
As nicotine addiction is the factor preventing many women from smoking cessation during pregnancy, nicotine. Patch corresponding to. Effects of nicotine during.
For instance, if you quit for a certain length of time, use what you would have spent on cigarettes to buy something for the baby. Many nicotine replacement products are available over-the-counter. If you choose to use the nicotine patch, minimize your baby's exposure to nicotine by removing the patch while you sleep. As your cravings and withdrawal symptoms fade, work with your health care provider to gradually reduce the nicotine replacement over time. If you'd rather use a non-nicotine medication to stop smoking during pregnancy, the antidepressant bupropion (Zyban, Wellbutrin) might be an option.
Work with your health care provider to weigh the risks and benefits. Adjusting to life with a newborn can be stressful. Many women who quit smoking during pregnancy relapse shortly after giving birth. If you quit smoking during pregnancy, recognize the risk of relapse after your baby is born and seek counseling for support. If you smoke after giving birth, don't smoke near your baby or while you breast-feed. If you smoke and breast-feed your baby, he or she will be exposed to many harmful chemicals through your breast milk. Cigarette smoking might also decrease your milk production.
Also, remember that breathing secondhand smoke poses health risks for a newborn, including an increased risk of asthma and SIDS. Hackshaw A, et al.
Maternal smoking in pregnancy and birth defects: A systematic review based on 173 687 malformed cases and 11.7 million controls. Human Reproduction Update. Rodriguez-Thompson D. Cigarette smoking and pregnancy.
Accessed Feb. Tobacco use and pregnancy. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed Feb. Piper BJ, et al. Executive function profile in the offspring of women that smoked during pregnancy. Nicotine & Tobacco Research.
Frequently asked questions. Pregnancy FAQ170. Tobacco, alcohol, drugs and pregnancy. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Accessed Feb. Briggs GG, et al. Drugs in Pregnancy and Lactation.
Philadelphia, Pa.: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins; 2011. What kind of illness and death are caused by smoking cigarettes? American Cancer Society. Accessed Feb.
Women and smoking. American Cancer Society. Accessed Feb. Smoking and how to quit. Office on Women's Health. Accessed Feb. Best D, et al.
Technical report — Secondhand and prenatal tobacco smoke exposure. Smoking and women's health: Tips on why and how to quit. The Journal of Midwifery & Women's Health. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) Committee on Practice Bulletins — Obstetrics. ACOG Practice Bulletin No. 471: Smoking cessation during pregnancy. Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Samet JM, et al. Secondhand smoke exposure: Effects in children. Accessed Feb. Milidou I, et al. Nicotine replacement therapy during pregnancy and infantile colic in the offspring. Hollams EM, et al. Persistent effects of maternal smoking during pregnancy on lung function and asthma in adolescents.
American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. McEvoy CT, et al. Vitamin C supplementation for pregnant smoking women and pulmonary function in their newborn infants. Journal of the American Medical Association. Varner MW, et al. Association between stillbirth and illicit drug use and smoking during pregnancy.
Obstretrics and Gynecology.