Women Who Quit Smoking Have Healthier, Happier Babies
By Dr. Randi Fredricks, Ph.D.
Smoking is a major public health problem. All smokers face an increased risk of lung cancer, other lung diseases, and cardiovascular and other disorders. Smoking during pregnancy can harm the health of both a woman and her unborn baby. Currently, at least 10 percent of women in the United States smoke during pregnancy.
Research has found that women who smoked heavily during pregnancy had the most difficult infants.
For women struggling to quit smoking during pregnancy, this could be the encouragement they need.
In a recent study, scientists determined that you can expect to have a happier baby if you break the habit.
Giving up cigarettes not only improves mother and child's physical health, it also makes it more likely the baby
will have a sunnier nature, with regular sleeping and eating patterns.
According to the research, the babies of recent quitters were even more easy-going than those born to women who
had never smoked or had stopped years earlier. The study authors noted that one in eight women smokes during
pregnancy despite health risks to baby
A possible explanation for quitters having better behaved children than non-smokers is the fact that
women who give up smoking in pregnancy are positive about the decision and the outcomes for the baby.
Although the risks to physical health caused by mothers' smoking have been well-documented, data on their
babies' mental well-being has been scarce.
The study of 18,000 British children at the age of nine months found women who smoke heavily in pregnancy - more
than ten cigarettes a day - had the most difficult infants with the worst moods.
Mothers who kicked the habit ended up with the best behaved babies. These babies had the lowest chances of
unpredictable behaviour, were receptive to new things and had regular eating and sleeping patterns.
Chemicals from cigarettes are known to harm the development of the brains of babies in the womb.
They are also linked to low birth weight, birth defects and increased risk of cot death.
References (To view, roll mouse over the "References" heading; to hide, click on the heading)
Pickett, K. E., Rathouz, P. J., Kasza, K., Wakschlag, L. S., & Wright, R. (2005). Self-reported smoking, cotinine levels, and patterns of smoking in pregnancy.
Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol, 19(5), 368-376.
Wakschlag, L. S., Pickett, K. E., Middlecamp, M. K., Walton, L. L., Tenzer, P., & Leventhal, B. L. (2003).
Pregnant smokers who quit, pregnant smokers who don't: does history of problem behavior make a difference?
Soc Sci Med, 56(12), 2449-2460.
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