Smoking and breastfeeding: harmful effects on mother and baby. Is it possible for a nursing mother to smoke and what to do if she can’t quit?

How dangerous is smoking? breastfeeding? Does nicotine get into breast milk? How does it affect the child, what consequences does it cause? Is it possible to reduce Negative influence, if you can’t give up cigarettes? Pediatricians and breastfeeding specialists warn about the dangers of smoking during lactation.

Nicotine is the only substance that can provoke infant withdrawal syndrome. It develops if a woman smoked during pregnancy and decided to quit after giving birth. bad habit. The syndrome manifests itself as excessive nervousness of the baby, his irritability, crying frequently. This condition can continue for up to a month. But, according to doctors, this is the least evil that nicotine can bring to an infant. And if the mother found the strength to part with him, the baby’s body will quickly recover. And if not?

Why is nicotine dangerous?

During breastfeeding, women almost never start smoking. The bad habit persists from the period of pregnancy, during which it has already brought dangerous fruit. Studies have confirmed that in 20% of cases, smoking mothers give birth to babies with insufficient body weight, and in 8% of cases, births occur prematurely.

Other developmental abnormalities in children are also associated with the consequences of smoking.

• Autism. The risk of developing a disease in which the child’s emotional and psychological connections with the outside world is disrupted increases by 40% if a woman smoked in early period pregnancy.
• Congenital clubfoot. The risk of this disease increases for a baby by 34%.
• Diabetes and Obesity. The likelihood of metabolic diseases and related consequences increases by 30%.
• Asthma. Smoking by a pregnant woman increases the likelihood of developing this disease in a child by 20%.

Minimize consequences dangerous habit during pregnancy allows only complete failure from her. What if you can’t quit? What are the effects of smoking while breastfeeding? Let's consider the features of the effect of nicotine on a newborn.

Route into breast milk

After smoking a cigarette, the toxic substance enters the mother's blood very quickly - within 1-2 minutes. Within 15 minutes it passes into breast milk. The volume of nicotine in it is about 10%, which is why it is believed that this is not a large number of cannot cause significant harm to the baby.

The half-life of the substance is 95 minutes, that is, within an hour and a half, half of the dose received will leave the milk. If the mother smokes another cigarette, the level will rise again, and everything will repeat all over again. Period complete cleansing the body from nicotine is two days.

Features of the impact on the children's body

Smoking while breastfeeding causes responses from the baby's body.

• Anxiety . In 1989, American pediatricians Rivrud and Matherson conducted a study on the effects of nicotine on the psycho-emotional state of infants. It revealed that 40% of children of smoking mothers suffered from colic, while among non-smokers the number did not exceed 20%. This condition was accompanied by excessive crying of children for 2-3 hours. There was also an increase in the number of colics among babies whose parents smoked in the house.
• Nausea, vomiting . The possibility of poisoning a child with associated symptoms when the mother smokes more than 20 cigarettes per day. This condition requires immediate assistance doctor
• Lack of weight. Studies have confirmed the connection between infant weight gain and maternal smoking. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, the baby often spits up when receiving less food. Secondly, smoking by a nursing mother reduces the intensity of breast milk production. In 1992, American pediatrician Hopkins published data that within two weeks after birth, lactation decreases from 514 to 406 milliliters per day. Subsequently, the level of the hormone prolactin, which stimulates lactation, decreases to an even greater extent. This leads to an early end of breastfeeding and chronic child underweight.
• Lack of important substances in a child. Volume of vitamins and minerals in the baby's first food decreases. This is due to a violation of their absorption by the body smoking woman.
• Exposure respiratory diseases . Confirmed by a study by American doctors Colley and Corkhill in 1974. It tracked the condition of 2,205 children. A direct connection between maternal smoking and the incidence of organ diseases has been proven respiratory system. Children more often suffered from pneumonia and bronchitis. Another sensational discovery has been made - smoking during lactation is the main cause of sudden infant death syndrome. Moreover, those babies who are fed formula, but one or both parents smoke, are also at risk.

You can't quit smoking

Where to put a comma in this phrase, each mother has to decide for herself, assessing the risks and dangers for the child. Often the desire not to leave harmful, but such strong attachment, leads to the decision to stop breastfeeding. According to women, this eliminates all risks for the baby. And therein lies the deepest misconception.

Breastfeeding and smoking are less dangerous for the baby than smoking and artificial feeding, warns American doctor Jack Newman. It is known that bottle-fed babies are more susceptible to acute respiratory infections in the first year of life than crumbs in natural nutrition. The presence of smokers in the home, and especially maternal smoking, greatly increases this risk. Dr. Newman advises to continue breastfeeding for as long as possible if giving up cigarettes is not possible.

Possible alternatives

According to breastfeeding experts, the best way exclude harmful effects nicotine per child, there will be a complete cessation of the bad habit. But when the attachment is strong, women switch to “easy” substitutes, in their opinion: electronic cigarettes, chewing gum, patches. Their effect on the body has its own characteristics.

E-Sigs

The miniature device with a replaceable cartridge contains flavors and purified nicotine. Using it creates additional factors risk. While smoking, a woman does not experience the usual “heaviness” from a puff; it seems to her that she has smoked little or received less nicotine. Dissatisfaction makes her take up the cigarette again.

This situation is extremely dangerous, since the amount of toxic substance in an electronic “simulator” often exceeds that in a regular cigarette. And the nursing mother receives a powerful “nicotine hit”, the consequences of which will be felt by the child. Does not allow the use of electronic cigarettes during lactation and World organization health. And at the Russian Research Institute of Pulmonology, a study was conducted that confirmed greater harm to the health of women and children from using electronic cigarettes instead of regular ones.

Nicotine gum

The peculiarities of their impact on the body of a woman and child were studied by the American pediatrician Thomas Hale. In 1999, he published the results of his observations in the book " Medications And mother's milk" According to Dr. Hale, when using nicotine gum, the level of nicotine in breast milk decreases from 44 to 17 nanograms of the substance per milliliter of serum. This can be considered a positive fact with one caveat - if a woman uses chewing gum “according to the rules.” Frequent or excessively active use of them causes sudden jump substances in blood and milk. The doctor recommends that women not feed their children after using this alternative for 2-3 hours.

Transdermal patches

Are considered the most safe alternative cigarettes. They provide reduced level nicotine in the blood and a decrease in its volume in breast milk by up to 60%. Their disadvantage is still the constant access of the toxic substance, while the use of regular cigarettes allows you to minimize this level by simply giving up frequent smoking.

Rules for “safe” smoking

Can a nursing mother smoke? Experts answer this question international organization on breastfeeding La Leche League in the publication “Book of Questions and Answers on Breastfeeding.”

• The more a mother smokes, the greater the risk of dangerous consequences for the child.. The critical norm is 20 cigarettes per day, which can cause severe intoxication of the child’s body.
• Limiting the number of cigarettes, the mother reduces health risks. Experts advise reducing their number to 5 per day.
• Using substitutes can be as dangerous as smoking itself. They should be used extremely carefully, avoiding a significant increase in the level of nicotine in the blood.

Also, according to La Leche League experts, a child has the right to enjoy the benefits of breastfeeding, even if his mother smokes. To do this, it is important to follow 5 rules.

• Don't smoke at night. Firstly, it suppresses the activity of the hormone prolactin, which stimulates milk production at night. Secondly, babies sleep restlessly and are haunted by nightmares.
• Don't smoke a lot. Try to reduce the number of cigarettes to a minimum. The maximum norm, according to pediatricians, should not exceed 5 cigarettes per day. But if you reduce this amount, you will protect the baby's health.
• Do not smoke where the baby is. Passive smoking causes no less danger than “active” smoking during feeding. Avoid smoking in the apartment, do it outside.
• Do not smoke before or during feeding. It is optimal that at least 3 hours have passed since the last cigarette was smoked.
• Try to quit. A group of Italian scientists conducted a study on how giving up cigarettes affects a woman’s health. It has been proven that within 9 months after saying goodbye to bad habit, a woman’s body becomes 13 years younger.

It is important to understand that breastfeeding and smoking are a woman's personal, individual responsibility. There are no punishments for her modern society, although the first attempts to introduce it have already been observed in European countries. For example, Estonia recently passed a bill providing for criminal liability for pregnant women who smoke and knowingly cause harm to the health of an unborn baby.

In our society there is only moral responsibility. But understanding the risks and threats created by the mother for the child, awareness of the likelihood serious illnesses and developmental disabilities will be a better motivating factor for breaking a bad habit than criminal norms.

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Smoking and feeding your baby milk at the same time is certainly unacceptable. But, despite the harmful effects of cigarettes on the body of mother and child, in our society, especially in the metropolis, there are smoking nursing mothers. Many mothers manage to quit smoking only after learning that they are pregnant. Many girls leading a carefree lifestyle, as soon as they see 2 lines on a pregnancy test, immediately or after a few days decide to quit smoking. It’s one thing when you poison your body and harm your health, it’s another thing when the life of an unborn child and his health are in your hands. And the thought of smoking disappears somewhere - the girls enter into a new consciousness - “I am a future mother.” It happens that toxicosis of the first trimester completely discourages the desire to smoke - here the body itself intervenes in the situation because it now has other needs - to preserve the fetus, to provide everything necessary. Morning sickness- a sign of hormonal changes - there’s no time for a cigarette. It's a huge success if to the expectant mother I manage to quit this bad habit. And if not?

In this article I will not condemn or “feed” morals. I just want to analyze this situation in detail: a nursing mother smokes, how to reduce the harmful effects on the child?

I want to debunk one myth right away.

MYTH: If mommy smokes, then it’s better not to feed her.

Vice versa! If mommy smokes, she really needs to continue breastfeeding. Nicotine certainly appears in breast milk, as well as in the mother’s blood. But breast milk softens harmful effect nicotine, protects the child's body. You cannot continue to smoke and switch to artificial formulas to feed your baby - the child will passive smoker at the same time, but he will not have the life-saving protection of breast milk. Artificial mixture will not protect him from cigarette smoke. Therefore, if you are breastfeeding, feed as long as possible.

Continuing breastfeeding will protect your baby as much as it can, but not 100%. Nicotine entering the body of infants makes them more restless. In such children, colic is more common and lasts longer. Such babies are more susceptible to respiratory diseases. A child who receives milk from a smoking mother is more likely to develop an allergic disease. And, of course, since nicotine by its nature is narcotic substance, accordingly, the child will be dependent on nicotine and will exist in the future Great chance that he, too, will become a heavy smoker, like his parent.

I was in the maternity hospital in the same room with my smoking mother. This mother ran to smoke 10 times a day (and even at night). Her baby was more restless. Mom didn’t understand why her child kept waking up and crying, while the neighbor’s child (that is, mine) slept peacefully after feeding. The doctors explained to this mother that the child was also addicted to cigarettes. The child simply receives his dose of nicotine through milk.

Nicotine affects milk production, in particular it inhibits the production of prolactin (the hormone responsible for milk production). A smoking mother runs the risk of ending breastfeeding earlier than she planned due to lack of milk. Nicotine speeds up metabolism (metabolism), so a smoking mother burns more calories and she and her baby need more food. Children whose mothers smoke experience less weight gain.

Pediatricians claim that Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS in Russian literature) occurs more often in children of smoking parents.

Recommendations for organizing breastfeeding for a smoking mother

1. Since smoking affects milk production (prolactin formation), it is strictly necessary not to smoke from 10 pm to 8 am.
2. Smoking only after feeding, if there is at least 2 hours left before the next feeding
3. Smoking as little as possible.
4. Drink more fluids and eat well, taking into account all the necessary proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals.
5. And, of course, do not smoke in front of your child.
6. On my own behalf, I would still advise you to quit smoking.

Here are some stories from life:

On one forum, one young mother writes that she smokes and breastfeeds and is very tormented by torments of conscience. Another mother with a history of smoking answers her this way:

"I know what you mean. I promised myself 100 times that I would get rid of this habit. And so I suffered throughout my pregnancy. My baby is now 6 months old and I still smoke. But we're doing great. I smoked for 10 years and with such experience it is impossible to quit. Any further - if you quit abruptly - you won't have any problems. If you become nervous, the milk will run out. Do you need it? My advice to you is to relax, being nervous will only increase the number of cigarettes you smoke. Try to smoke less, but you and I don’t need to be nervous.”

Here's another

“My experience is 12 years. But 3 days was enough for me to quit smoking. I just found out that I was pregnant. When I smoked, I firmly told myself: Honey, when you get pregnant, no cigarettes. In fact, pregnancy turned out to be a way for me to quit. Of course, later I wanted to smoke, and Alan Cara’s book helped me here. The easy way quit smoking"

Here's another

“I read A. Kara’s book “The Easy Way to Quit Smoking” and quit smoking. For half a year...Then everything came back. I got pregnant and “thought” for 3 days, after which I gave up. Apparently, 3 days is the deadline for pregnant women to change their minds. When my son turned 9 months old, I terribly missed cigarettes. I started smoking again. But now I smoke very little and only once. And my soul suffers from the fact that I’m poisoning the baby with this nasty thing...”

Here's another

“I have been smoking for 15 years and have been smoking non-stop. Even when I was carrying my daughter, I fed her later. My baby was born healthy. I was able to feed her until she was almost 3 years old, there was plenty of milk. My daughter entered the 7th grade, and I never held a cigarette in her hands. My second baby was recently born. And again the same story: pregnancy, breastfeeding with a cigarette in hand. I think all the time about quitting. That my children and my husband need me to be a healthy mother. I read books, went to seminars, and used different gums and patches. Nothing helped me. Now I think why did I start smoking??? Why do I condemn myself and my children to suffering? Why am I putting myself at such a risk to my health? Smoking is terrible disease, terrible habit! Girls! avoid smoking! Don't start smoking! Those who already smoke, quit before it's too late. Quit before things get worse. Don’t ruin your life!”

“It happened like this for me. I smoked before pregnancy and during the first 5 weeks. Then I quit. And at 30 weeks, my husband said that he was leaving me and abandoning our child. Out of grief, I again took up cigarettes and smoked until the birth. I don’t know how, apparently God took care of the child - the son was born with a good weight and healthy. Everything is fine with us now, I still smoke, but only at night. My conscience constantly torments me, I just can’t quit this poison.”

“I managed to smoke only 1-2 cigarettes a day during pregnancy. At 32 weeks, the waters broke, contractions began... The baby was born cyanotic and small. They put him in an incubator and stuck tubes into him. He was breathing through a mask. Thanks to the doctors, he survived. Every day I prayed to God that my son would not leave me. Only God knows what hell I went through. I forgot about cigarettes. My son is one year old, I breastfeed him. He has grown, become stronger and very developed. Since then I haven't smoked. (My husband, by the way, also quit)

Smoking is a persistent, unhealthy mindset in the brain, a habit. The downside is that this addiction not only worsens the smoker’s body, but also affects environment and other people. It makes no difference what you smoke – cigarettes or hookah. This is especially dangerous for future parents, whose children will reap the benefits of mom and dad’s habits. What are the dangers of smoking while breastfeeding?

Everyone keeps saying that smoking is harmful to health, but, as practice shows, these words have not helped anyone protect themselves. Many women quit smoking for the sake of their children’s health, while others do not even think about what the consequences of negligence on their part may be.

Harm of smoking

1. This affects the female body. If pregnancy and childbirth are in themselves a test for female body, then smoking during these difficult life processes is harmful and impairs the ability to recover.
2. This has a bad effect on the child’s health, since during pregnancy and feeding the baby is closely connected with his mother. Smoking cigarettes or other substances (hookah) also means affecting the baby, who for poisoning, addiction and development various diseases and pathologies need a tiny dose. The consequences of such actions can be disastrous - retardation, disability, coma or even death.
3. It is impossible to smoke cigarettes or hookah and still feed your baby healthy food. All substances obtained, to one degree or another, pass on to the composition of breast milk, changing its usefulness, quality, taste and quantity. If the child does not have good nutrition, That normal height and timely development are quite questionable.

The harmful effects of cigarettes on women's health

The harmful effects of smoking on a child's health

The harmful effects of smoking on breast milk and the feeding process

How can a breastfeeding woman quit smoking?

1. To throw bad habit, you should understand the need for this. A smoking mother should remind herself that she is doing this for the sake of her baby, who will grow up big, strong and healthy if she quits smoking.
2. To reduce cravings, you can use a hookah as a substitute, but this is not for everyone. The advantage is that a person gets the illusion of smoking, pleasant pleasure and minimal amount nicotine
3. At night you need to completely protect yourself from smoking. Feeding is carried out at night and early in the morning, which is best done without nicotine impurities in the milk.
4. To dilute and remove some of the nicotine from the body, you should drink as much as possible more water and adjust your diet. There is a version that smoking is caused by a lack of certain substances in the body.
5. You should limit yourself to 5 thin cigarettes per day, no more. If you remove one every week, then after a couple of months you can be free and not experience withdrawal symptoms.

Are they compatible? It seems that the answer is obvious - no. However, many women do not give up cigarettes either during pregnancy or after childbirth, even if they are breastfeeding. Let's look at what smoking while breastfeeding consequences has and how the risk can be reduced adverse effects on the child's body.

Smoking can have a negative impact on a baby in two ways - if the mother smokes in his presence - this is self-evident, and harmful inhaled substances enter first the mother’s blood, and then into the milk... That is, the baby drinks milk that is already poisoned various harmful chemical compounds and nicotine. In addition, studies show that smoking mothers produce breast milk worse than non-smoking mothers, that is, in smaller quantities. This is due to some ability of nicotine to suppress the production of the hormone prolactin, due to which lactation occurs. Therefore, smoking and breastfeeding cannot be combined between 9 pm and 9 am, that is, at night, when prolactin is especially actively produced. In addition, nicotine has a destructive effect on some vitamins (for example, vitamin C, on which the state of the immune system largely depends), therefore the milk of a smoking woman is less nutritious and healthy.

Impact on the child

1. Nicotine, contrary to popular belief, does not have a calming, but rather a stimulating effect on nervous system. Thus, smoking while breastfeeding can cause nervous excitement The child has. He will eat poorly, sleep less and more restlessly, and will be capricious. In general, it will not be easy for everyone.

2. Children whose mothers smoked during pregnancy and breastfeeding have a much higher risk of developing various pulmonary and allergic diseases(croup, asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, etc.). The risk is higher in families where there is smoking in the home. In addition, sudden infant death syndrome is several times more likely to occur in these children. The likelihood of developing lung cancer is 2 times higher.

3. Intestinal colic more often and stronger in children whose mothers are addicted to smoking while breastfeeding. They also experience intestinal and stomach disorders more often.

3. Since nicotine is still a drug, albeit a mild one, the child becomes addicted to it to one degree or another. And in adolescence or adulthood, there is a high probability that a person himself will become a heavy smoker. Of course, the likelihood of this is greater in those families where the child constantly observes parents smoking and inhales tobacco smoke.

So, a woman must do everything to get rid of this bad habit even before conception. However, if willpower is not enough, and smoking while breastfeeding becomes an unpleasant necessity, follow these few rules that will help minimize the risk to the baby's health.

1. Do not smoke in front of your child. If you live in an apartment, then even in winter you need to at least go out to the balcony and open the windows there. Smoke should not the slightest amount get to the child.

2. Smoking and breastfeeding should be separated by at least 2-3 hours. The point is that penetration toxic substances into breast milk occurs within 30-60 minutes. It takes time for it to come out of there. Therefore, if you do smoke, then immediately after feeding the baby, so that you have a break of 2-3 hours.

3. Smoking no more than 5 cigarettes a day, but the less, the better the prognosis for the child. It is ideal if you can gradually stop smoking.

4. Adequate nutrition is a must. As we wrote above, nicotine, when it enters the bloodstream, prevents some from being absorbed. useful substances. Therefore, you need to pay Special attention your diet. Vitamins in tablets are not the best way out of the situation.

5. Drink more fluids, breast milk will begin to be produced in large quantities, A harmful substances eliminated from the body faster.

5. Do not wear clothes in which you go to smoke in front of your child. Be sure to wash your hands thoroughly and rinse your mouth.

Of course, smoking while breastfeeding can have the most unpleasant consequences, however, if a woman smokes 2-3 cigarettes a day, and following the above rules, the risk is negligible. And doctors definitely say that such smoking while breastfeeding will cause less harm than if you transfer the child to artificial feeding. But this fact should not lead you astray, so to speak. The risk is smaller, but it remains. And you have the power to change everything. Pull yourself together and give up cigarettes, not for your sake, but for the sake of your child!