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If you’re pregnant or thinking about getting pregnant,
use this as motivation to quit smoking once and for all. If you already
have children, it’s not too late to quit smoking and improve the quality
of life for your entire family!
a) Before and during pregnancy-
Even before pregnancy, smoking can even affect
your fertility. Female smokers have a harder time conceiving. Smokers
have been shown to have a 3.4 times greater chance than nonsmokers for
needing a year or more to become pregnant. More recent studies
demonstrate that smoking in women may impair the fertilization and
implantation of the zygote, and decrease ovulatory response.
Likewise, male smokers are 50 percent more susceptible to becoming impotent. It is
also suspected that tobacco chemicals could change the cervical fluid to
become toxic to sperm, which increases the difficulty of conceiving.
If smokers do manage to become pregnant, the worries associated with
smoking are far from over. If the mother continues to smoke, tobacco
chemicals are passed to the fetus through the blood stream. Smoking
during pregnancy is also associated with low birth weight, placenta
previa and preterm delivery, premature rupture of membranes,
miscarriage, and neonatal death.
b) Newborns and children-
After a successful delivery, the effect of a smoking parent on the baby’s
health continues—with the additional danger of father who smokes, as
well. Newborns have the same amount of nicotine levels in their
bloodstream as their mothers, and suffer withdrawal in the first few
days after birth. In its first year of life, a baby with one or both
parents who smoke will be more at risk to contract pneumonia and
bronchitis. Babies of smokers are also at greater risk of frequent,
severe asthma attacks.
Throughout life, if parents continue to smoke, their children will be
exposed to secondhand smoke, which is also called passive smoking.
Because of their increased breathing rate, children inhale more air
and pollutants relative to their body weight than adults.
The effects of secondhand smoking include increased
susceptibility to colds, respiratory problems, ear aches, and sicknesses
requiring a doctor’s visit. Even brief exposure to secondhand smoke can
cause headaches, dizziness, and nausea. Children with allergies or
asthma can have their symptoms worsen when exposed to secondhand smoke.
Finally, children of smokers are also more likely to eventually become
regular smokers themselves.
c) The benefits of quitting-
As a concerned parent, you’re considering quitting smoking. But what
exactly are the benefits, and how long do they take to appear? The first
benefit—blood pressure and pulse returning to normal—happens only 20
minutes after you finish your last cigarette.
In the first three days after quitting, all carbon dioxide and nicotine is eliminated from
a smoker’s body. The lungs begin clearing out mucous and smoking-related
pollutants. Your sense of taste and smell will improve markedly, and
breathing eases as the bronchial tubes relax. In a mere 72 hours, your
energy level will also increase.
Within four months after quitting, a smoker’s circulation will improve.
Three to nine months later, lung functions increase up to 10%, which means coughing,
wheezing, and breathing problems improve greatly. Five years
post-quitting, the risk of a heart attack falls to 50% of a smoker’s
risk. After 10 years as an ex-smoker, you risk of lung cancer is just
half that of a smoker, and heart attack risk is equal to that of a
complete nonsmoker.
Overall, these improvements in physical fitness can help you become a better
parent. You will have more energy to devote to your children, as well as a
decreased risk of heart attacks and cancer. Similarly, your children will
become healthier and learn about a fit, active lifestyle that they can maintain
for years to come.
No matter how long you’ve been smoking for, quitting when you become a
parent can help improve your health and that of your children. It has
almost immediate physical benefits as well as long-term mental benefits,
such as encouraging your children by example not to smoke. Use
parenthood as a reason to quit smoking, and enjoy your increased health
and fitness into many years of grandparenthood!
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