No-Smoking Day, 10th March

It's well-understood that smoking whilst pregnant can harm your baby, and most women are very determined to control the habit at this time. Well Done!

But many women then go on to use artificial infant formula because they want to return to smoking.
While smoking continues to be bad for you & your baby, can reduce your milk supply & give your baby colic - it is still worth breastfeeding if you are a smoker. You just need to understand how to reduce the risks...


The possibility (though not ideal) of being a breastfeeding mother and a smoker is discussed in several of the resource pages linked below. Advice is given on how to manage this to reduce the risks - the main one being to feed before you smoke, not just after.
KellyMom, BfN, (and an article about using patches and other NRT safely whilst feeding).
Also research from 2009 on the effects on BF rates & weaning.

Also some pages of advice on breastfeeding and the use of other social drugs. Health e-learning, BfN, ABA.
Page here on FF about alcohol.

More recent research into smoking whilst Breastfeeding.

Of course, smoking around children holds many other risks however they are fed - {source: Patient UK} Children and babies who live in a home where there is a smoker:-
  • Are more prone to asthma and ear, nose and chest infections. About 17,000 children under five years old in England and Wales are admitted to hospital each year due to illnesses caused by their parents smoking.
  • Have an increased risk of dying from cot death (sudden infant death syndrome).
  • Are more likely than average to become smokers themselves when older.
  • On average, do less well at reading and reasoning skills compared to children in smoke-free homes, even at low levels of smoke exposure.
  • Are at increased risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cancer as adults.
All good reasons to pack it in.
Stay Healthy!

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