Topic Overview

If you are a woman who smokes and you are thinking about getting pregnant or are pregnant, now is a good time to quit smoking. Women who smoke may have a harder time getting pregnant. Women who smoke are more likely to have the following problems:footnote 1
- Stillbirths and miscarriages.
- Babies who grow more slowly in the uterus and weigh less than expected when born (low birth weight).
- Children who have learning, emotional, and behavioural problems.
If you quit smoking before you become pregnant (or sometime during the first 3 months of your pregnancy), your risk of having a baby with low birth weight is the same as that of a woman who does not smoke. Women who quit later in their pregnancy still reduce the risk of problems for their babies.
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Current as of: July 4, 2019
Author: Healthwise Staff
Medical Review: Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine
Brian O'Brien, MD, FRCPC - Internal Medicine
Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine
John R. Hughes, MD - Addiction Psychiatry
Michael F. Bierer, MD - Internal Medicine
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Current as of: July 4, 2019
Author: Healthwise Staff
Medical Review:Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine & Brian O'Brien, MD, FRCPC - Internal Medicine & Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine & John R. Hughes, MD - Addiction Psychiatry & Michael F. Bierer, MD - Internal Medicine