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Smoking and breastfeeding consequences for the child. Smoking and breastfeeding: consequences and getting rid of a bad habit

Smoking while breastfeeding has a negative impact on the health of the mother and child. The opinion that light cigarettes are not dangerous for babies is erroneous. Even the most light cigarette per day can cause significant harm to the baby and reduce his immunity. Therefore, it is very important to avoid this during pregnancy and lactation. bad habit.

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What harm do cigarettes cause?

Smoking while breastfeeding breast milk harms mother and her baby.

Smoke contains nicotine and other harmful substances: resins, aromatic hydrocarbons. Nicotine is a vasopressor (sharply narrows the walls of blood vessels) and an activator of metabolic processes. Does nicotine pass into breast milk? Without a doubt! It reduces milk production by approximately 25% and gives it bad taste. Some babies refuse to breastfeed because the food smells bad.

The effect of cigarettes on a woman’s body

Smoking while breastfeeding is debilitating female body, makes mom irritable and nervous.

  1. Each cigarette contains 4 thousand toxic compounds. They destroy useful substances in the blood, reduce the amount of oxygen, and have a negative effect on all organs and systems of a woman.
  2. Nicotine narrows blood vessels and milk ducts. This slows down access to oxygen tissues and makes milk removal difficult.
  3. Under the influence of nicotine, the amount of prolactin in the mother decreases. This leads to a reduction in milk production and failure to block ovulation. That is, in a smoking woman, natural lactational amenorrhea may cease (regular menstruation begins).
  4. Nicotine negatively affects the entire mother’s body, so almost all vitamins are spent on the woman. Because of this, the baby does not receive enough nutrients.

The harmful effects of nicotine on a child

Breastfeeding and smoking are incompatible things. Nicotine quickly passes into mother's milk, and with it into the baby. It has a stimulating effect and can provoke prolonged crying and irritability in the baby. Instead of vitamins and minerals, milk carries tars and toxins to the baby. This has a detrimental effect on a fragile child’s body:

  1. The baby's immunity decreases. Nicotine destroys vitamin C, which leads to frequent colds in the baby. Sensitivity respiratory tract and bronchi to viruses and microbes increases significantly. Complications often develop against the background of colds: otitis media, bronchitis, pneumonia, croup, laryngitis. Children suffer from a cough or runny nose almost all the time;
  2. Increases the likelihood of developing cardiovascular diseases;
  3. The condition is getting worse respiratory system, there is a risk of developing asthma;
  4. Colic occurs, the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract is disrupted (frequent regurgitation, vomiting, diarrhea are noted);
  5. Appetite decreases, growth and weight dynamics are disrupted. Frequent regurgitation does not allow the baby to fully gain weight;
  6. Are developing allergic reactions The child has;
  7. Violated nervous system, psychological development. Sleep becomes restless, irritability and tearfulness appear;
  8. The child is developmentally delayed. He does not acquire the skills that he should master at a certain age, he lags behind in mental and physical development;
  9. Risk increases sudden death baby. For no apparent reason, a child may stop breathing during sleep. The more the mother and father smoke, the higher the risks.

We recommend reading the review article about. How milk is produced in a woman’s body, what difficulties breastfeeding can bring and how to avoid them, what diseases can accompany breastfeeding, you can read this article.

Is it possible to smoke while breastfeeding? Each woman makes her own decision, but the facts confirm the high risk of complications. The child develops nicotine addiction, which manifests itself in worsening appetite, sleep disturbances, irritability and causeless crying. Of course, all this does not happen in one day, so many mothers simply do not grasp the cause-and-effect relationship.

We have discussed how nicotine affects breast milk. Now you should consider quitting cigarettes. If a nursing woman abruptly quits smoking, the child begins to experience withdrawal symptoms. The baby is nervous, constantly cries, gets irritated, and often spits up.

Further development of the child after stopping breastfeeding

Scientists have proven that even after stopping breastfeeding negative consequences persist. The baby remains irritable and aggressive. In the future, problems with memory and behavior often arise, and there is a delay in school curriculum. Later, after weaning, the child may experience breathing problems and allergic reactions.

There is a high probability that a child who has been accustomed to nicotine since birth will begin to smoke himself. adolescence. This will aggravate the situation and cause further harm to the child’s body. more harm. Often against this background there is low academic performance, weak mental development, aggressive behavior. Therefore, when thinking about whether it is possible to smoke while breastfeeding, give preference healthy image life.

In unfavorable environmental conditions, it is already difficult for a child’s body to develop harmoniously. Additional load in the form nicotine addiction extremely undesirable.

Are electronic cigarettes dangerous?

There is an opinion that e-Sigs When breastfeeding, they do not harm the newborn. The device works on the principle of spraying a flavored liquid. At the same time, the smoker feels the taste of tobacco, and there is no sharp toxic smoke. But this cigarette still contains nicotine, so the child is harmed. Steam electronic device contains propylene glycol. Its dose, insignificant for an adult, has a detrimental effect on a child. Therefore, it is better not to smoke at all.

Which is better: milk with nicotine or artificial mixture

Approximately 40% of women who smoked before pregnancy cannot give up this habit during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Some mothers decide to switch their baby to artificial feeding so as not to harm him with nicotine. What is better: breastfeeding and smoking or giving up lactation?

WHO states that breast milk is better food for a newborn. And even taking into account the harm that maternal smoking causes to the child, it is better to continue natural feeding, and not transfer the baby to mixtures.

Artificial feeding means that a woman will smoke as much as she wants, without limiting the number of cigarettes for the sake of the child. Passive smoking by a baby is not much different from getting nicotine from milk. Therefore, it is better to maintain lactation and give the baby at least some nutrition with milk.

What to do if you can’t refuse

If a woman is completely unable to quit smoking, she should at least reduce the impact of her habit on her child:

  1. Smoke after feeding. Then, by the time of new application, the harmful substances will have time to be neutralized. Half the dose of nicotine is eliminated from the body in 95 minutes;
  2. Smoke as few cigarettes per day as possible. Maximum 5 pieces;
  3. Do not smoke from 21-00 to 9-00. It is at this time that prolactin levels progressively increase and milk is actively produced;
  4. Eat a balanced diet so that milk contains more vitamins;
  5. Don't smoke in front of your child. Get out into the fresh air. Then wash your hands, brush your teeth, change clothes if possible.

The question arises, if you follow these tips, does smoking affect breast milk? Recommendations will help reduce negative impact on the newborn, but even when they are performed, the baby receives a colossal negative impact, which can affect his health in the future. In a year or 10 years. Therefore, it is extremely important to completely stop smoking and give your baby a happy and healthy childhood.

Of course, a mother’s smoking does not leave its mark on her and her child. What effect does it have on the baby's body during breastfeeding?

Impact on the body

It's worth starting with overall influence smoking on the human body. This is necessary for general idea the harm of this bad habit of millions of people. One cigarette, despite its small size, contains approximately 4,000 harmful substances, 70 of which can cause cancer, even if the smoker is a passive smoker. Nicotine is the most dangerous lethal dose which is 1 mg per 1 kg of weight. These factors are enough to understand that a cigarette is poison. Smoking and the smoke from it cause even more harm to the small, unformed body of a child whose parents smoke and do not try to protect their baby from this danger, without thinking about what the consequences may be.

Misconceptions about smoking

Many young mothers, in order to reassure themselves, convincingly believe some untrue facts about smoking during lactation:

  • Myth 1: Nicotine does not penetrate into milk because it dissolves in the mother’s body. In fact, the nicotine contained in a cigarette does not “pass” the milk. And it affects the baby’s body as negatively as it does the mother’s body, causing vasospasm. Eventually the cardiovascular system suffers and is under strain. The child becomes nervous, tearful, sleep is disturbed and weather sensitivity increases.
  • Myth 2: The milk of a woman who smokes is no different from normal milk. The taste of milk, into which harmful substances penetrate, differs from cigarettes, in addition, the milk begins to smell specifically. A child may stop breastfeeding precisely because the milk simply tastes bad and smells unpleasant to him.
  • Myth 3: Smoking while breastfeeding has no effect on milk supply. The hormone that is responsible for the formation of milk in the body is secreted 25% less due to nicotine entering the body. This is especially felt in the first days of breastfeeding, when the stage of lactation is just beginning to improve.
  • Myth 4: all poisons and toxins tobacco smoke neutralized by milk. During breastfeeding and smoking, the child enters the body a large number of harmful substances. If a woman smokes in the house and does not wash her hands after smoking, the baby gets polluted air and bad smell mother's hands.

Negative effects on the mother's body

During pregnancy, a woman’s body is greatly depleted, because all the beneficial substances are transferred to the child. Even after childbirth, the mother continues to give her newborn baby the beneficial resources of her body through breastfeeding. Smoking in postpartum period depletes the young mother even more, while the recovery processes slow down greatly. It is worth mentioning the negative impact of smoking on the psyche, and young mothers are more susceptible to stress than anyone else, they do not get enough sleep, and spend a lot of energy caring for their children. If you add smoking to this, you can only sympathize psychological state women. All negativity is transmitted to the baby through milk and emotional condition mothers, he becomes moody and restless.

Harm to the child

Unfortunately, smoking is one of those bad habits that can be very difficult to get rid of. But for the sake of your baby, it’s worth taking control of yourself and fighting this problem. If you can’t quit smoking completely while breastfeeding, you can significantly reduce the number of cigarettes you smoke per day, gradually giving them up completely. Everything depends only on the desire of the woman. She, like a real mother, should strive to protect her child from any harm, worrying about his health and life, excluding negative consequences.


Smoking can affect a child’s body in the following problems:
  • a high level of predisposition of the child’s body to cancer;
  • sudden death of a baby due to smoking of the parents or only the mother;
  • acute intestinal colic;
  • risk of heart failure;
  • arrhythmia;
  • tachycardia;
  • disruption of the heart;
  • problems with the nervous system;
  • developmental delay;
  • baby's growth retardation;
  • the risk of various allergic diseases;
  • respiratory tract diseases, especially bronchial asthma;
  • in most cases, the child who becomes a teenager will also start smoking.

And this list is far from complete. Each child’s body is individual and can react differently to negative influences. toxic substances in cigarettes.

Breast milk and cigarettes

Smoking while breastfeeding negatively affects not only vasospasm, but also the milk ducts, which narrow. Milk begins to flow slowly, and the production of prolactin, the milk hormone, decreases. Milk becomes significantly less, gradually it may disappear completely after 3 months, and it will be extremely difficult to restore lactation if you do not start to fight such harmful and dangerous habit like smoking.

The milk that a baby drinks from a smoking mother contains few useful and nutritious substances. healing properties are significantly reduced and the child receives little immunity with such milk. In addition, it simply becomes tasteless and disgusting in taste and smell. The newborn may stop latching on.

Should a smoking mother breastfeed?

In any case, every woman should be aware of the harm she is doing to her baby by continuing to smoke while breastfeeding. No self-respecting doctor will say that you can combine smoking and breastfeeding. And it is right.


If you compare the imaginary pleasure of smoking a cigarette with the baby’s health, it becomes clear that the latter is much more expensive. But there are some mothers who still do not see the incompatibility between smoking and breastfeeding. In fact, quitting smoking is not as difficult as it seems at first glance, especially if there is such a strong motivation as the health of the child and his life in the future. The goal of a nursing mother is to do everything to quit smoking. Cigarettes are poison, and a child is the most precious thing a woman has. Therefore, it is worth thinking seriously about this.

It is necessary to start with the fact that all efforts should be aimed as much as possible at reducing harm. Gradually it is important to move to complete failure from this habit. By following some rules, a woman will be able to at least partially protect her baby from harm and he will gradually give up smoking:

  • You cannot smoke in the apartment with a child. This needs to be done outside. Smoke from cigarettes should not enter the room;
  • This method effectively helps by replacing regular cigarette to electronic The harm from such a cigarette is less with the same sensations;
  • After smoking, it is necessary to feed the child no earlier than 2 hours later. Toxins penetrate into milk within a minute. The same period of time is necessary in order to remove the bulk of harmful substances from milk. Therefore, if a mother cannot quit smoking in any way, then it is most optimal to do this immediately after feeding, and not before;
  • no smoking from 9 pm to 9 am. It is during this period of time that the maximum activity of the hormone prolactin occurs in the body of a nursing mother. In addition, abstaining from a cigarette for so many hours will gradually discourage a woman from wanting to smoke.
  • consumption of large amounts of fluid. A nursing mother should drink 2 liters of water per day. This helps reduce the amount of toxins in the body;
  • complete nutrition. Smoking kills a lot useful substances, and they can only be compensated for by nutritious and healthy nutrition.

A woman should work to reduce the number of cigarettes she smokes per day, gradually eliminating them completely and breaking the habit. This is the only way she can give her baby and herself a healthy and happy life.

Regarding this topic, the opinion of scientists and doctors is clear: smoking while breastfeeding is undesirable. But, unfortunately, many do not give up this harmful habit either during pregnancy or after the birth of a child, and even when breastfeeding. However smoking women People often wonder: what is the danger of smoking while breastfeeding? Can they breastfeed or do they need to quit smoking to breastfeed? And how can you minimize the effect of nicotine on your child’s body? The answers to these questions can be found in the presented article.

Deadly consequences of cigarette exposure

It has been proven that for healthy person- 60 mg (if you eat tobacco), while one cigarette contains approximately 9 mg of nicotine. This is a lethal dose for one year old child, whose average weight is no more than 10 kg, can accidentally find a cigarette and eat it. It has been proven that passive smoke even more toxic than the smoke inhaled by the smoker. Nicotine is very harmful to a child, not only in the form of passive smoking, but even in the form of a smoking mother touching the child, since nicotine penetrates the body even through the skin. If a child simply takes this cigarette and crushes it and breaks it with his hands, then this is also very dangerous for his health. Therefore, parents need to be careful about where you leave cigarettes and whether your child can get to them.

Why are cigarettes harmful?

Every woman knows how harmful smoking is for a person, as well as the consequences of smoking while breastfeeding. But unfortunately, fewer and fewer pregnant women are able to leave this bad habit for the sake of your child's health. They may not know that each cigarette contains more than 3,900 hazardous substances. human body elements, and of this number approximately 60 can affect the occurrence oncological diseases. This all happens due to smoking.

Does nicotine get into milk during breastfeeding?

Yes, your baby can get nicotine through breast milk. After a woman smokes a cigarette, nicotine enters the blood through the lungs and reaches its maximum concentration there 25 minutes later. Blood nourishes all organs and tissues; the poison spreads through the bloodstream throughout the body, ending up in breast milk. Nicotine affects blood vessels and milk ducts, narrowing them, slowing down the access of oxygen to tissues and making milk production more difficult. At the same time, the nicotine content in the blood is the same as in breast milk. After a certain time (2.5 hours), the poison is eliminated from both the blood and breast milk.

Important!

You must always remember that smoking enhances the effect of caffeine, which is also undesirable for the baby, so if the mother does smoke while breastfeeding, then you should not do this while drinking a cup of coffee, as many smokers like to do. Also while smoking and after that breast milk is not as rich essential vitamins and beneficial enzymes, in addition, it acquires the taste and smell of cigarettes, which persists for an hour after smoking.

Examples of scientific research on maternal smoking during breastfeeding

  1. If the mother is during the period breastfeeding smokes more than 21 cigarettes per day, the harm caused by nicotine to the baby increases several times. Frequent smoking causes a reduction in milk supply and in rare cases causes the appearance of certain symptoms in the child, namely: nausea, vomiting, colic, diarrhea, asthma, ear infections.
  2. Smoking while breastfeeding is a prerequisite for early weaning. According to statistics, feeding lasts only 3-5 months, and there is also a decrease in milk production and a decrease in the level of prolactin in the blood, which is a protein hormone and is responsible for stimulating milk production; it decreases by 50% when smoking.
  3. If there are people in the house who smoke, then in these families children have an increased risk of the following diseases: bronchitis, sudden infant death syndrome and pneumonia.
  4. Children whose parents smoke are more likely to become smokers themselves in the future. Also, if a father and mother smoke in the house, this can double the risk of developing lung cancer in the baby in the future.
  5. It has been proven that the health status of 45% of infants fed by smoking mothers was characterized by colic (3-4 hours of intense crying), compared to 28% of infants breastfed by non-smoking mothers. However, the connection between colic and smoking is also observed in artificial feeding child. Research has proven that colic is a unique type of migraine in children, and it doesn’t matter whether the mother herself or someone else in the house smokes, colic in these children is much more common, since cigarette smoke is an irritant for the child.
  6. Toxins from cigarette smoke affect the baby's intestines, which causes pain and anxiety. The poison also damages the upper parts digestive tract- the child often spits up, eats less and, therefore, does not gain weight well.
  7. The researchers also suggested that breast milk promotes brain development and helps counteract the adverse effects of cigarette smoking during pregnancy.

If we turn to Evgeniy Komarovsky’s opinion about smoking during breastfeeding, he believes that if a nursing mother understands that smoking is bad, but cannot quit this bad habit, then it is necessary to limit the amount of nicotine entering the milk. First, the mother needs to smoke cigarettes with a minimum nicotine content and do this as rarely as possible. After all, there are no medicines or vitamins that could neutralize the effects of nicotine, otherwise everything would smoking people took these life-saving pills. Also additional and necessary actions are to ensure that the child eats well, breathes a lot fresh air. If all recommendations are followed, the danger of nicotine will be minimal. Regarding feeding - better mother's milk nothing exists for the child anyway.

Nicotine substitutes

The blood level of nicotine in smokers (more than 21 cigarettes per day) is about 43 nanograms per milliliter, while the same level in most nicotine substitutes averages 16 nanograms per milliliter. Thus, when using nicotine gum, the level of nicotine in breast milk is on average 55% less than that of those who smoke cigarettes. However, at the same time, the patch creates a permanent and at the same time more low level plasma nicotine, as opposed to nicotine gum, as it may result in greater variation in plasma nicotine levels. That is, when such chewing gum is chewed quickly, nicotine enters the blood in the same amount as when smoking a cigarette. Doctors recommend that mothers who wish to use these nicotine gums while breastfeeding do not feed their baby for 2-3 hours after using this gum.

  1. If you have willpower and, most importantly, the desire to have healthy child, then stop smoking altogether!
  2. If that doesn’t work, then try to minimize the number of cigarettes you consume per day. Research by scientists recommend smoking a maximum of 5 cigarettes per day.
  3. Smoke immediately after breastfeeding, that is, try to make sure that the time between smoking and the next feeding passes as long as possible so that the blood is cleared of nicotine to some extent, thereby minimizing the harm of smoking while breastfeeding . For example, for at least half of the nicotine to be eliminated from your body, it will take 1.5 hours.
  4. Do not smoke indoors with a child, since passive smoking of a child is much worse than feeding milk to a mother who smokes. It is better to smoke outside, away from your child, and also do not allow anyone to smoke near your child.
  5. Do not smoke between 9 pm and 9 am. Since in this period The risk of smoking while breastfeeding is greater because smoking at night also increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
  6. In order for harmful substances to be eliminated from the body faster, it is necessary to consume as much fluid as possible.
  7. Change into different clothes after smoking and wash your hands well to remove the smell of tobacco. It is imperative to brush your teeth thoroughly.
  8. Must be given Special attention proper nutrition. Try to eat nutritious and mineral-rich foods and take essential vitamins.

How to quit smoking?

If you are a mother who smokes and breastfeeds, then you need to think about this problem. To wean yourself from this bad habit, it is enough to write a list of positive facts that you will receive when you give up cigarettes. This could be anything, such as improving your and your child's health, being able to exercise, saving money, and much more. First of all, you must become good example for their children, since a child, looking at his parents, will also build his personal life.

Conclusion

According to reviews about smoking while breastfeeding, we can conclude that if you have a choice between two options, namely: quit breastfeeding and smoking, because you cannot quit smoking, or Then you must always remember that, First, every month of breastfeeding reduces a woman's risk of ovarian and breast cancer in percentage terms. Secondly, if you decide to smoke and not breastfeed your baby, your bottle-fed baby has a significantly increased risk of infections, respiratory diseases, allergies, asthma and attention deficit disorder than in children whose smoking mothers continued to breastfeed.

And remember that always the best option, in the case of smoking, there will be breastfeeding than feeding with breast milk substitutes. Due to the unique value of breast milk, which can more than compensate for the harmful effects of smoking, at least compared to artificial feeding.

Typically, women who have a smoking habit give it up even at the stage of planning conception; unplanned pregnancy also in most cases provokes smoking cessation. However, smoking while breastfeeding still occurs. No matter how much doctors, sociologists and other researchers talk about the dangers of smoking, arguments like “my sister’s friend smoked and breastfed and nothing: the child is healthy and smart” nullify millions of studies and authoritative opinions. Let's try again to talk about negative consequences smoking while breastfeeding and try to convince women to quit this is not at all a feminine and, especially, not a maternal activity.

How does smoking affect you while breastfeeding?

Breastfeeding is a process that is influenced by many factors. That is why a nursing mother is not recommended to take virtually any medications; she should limit her diet, excluding foods that are dangerous for the baby. All these requirements are based on the fact that everything that enters the mother’s body penetrates into breast milk.

Harmful substances contained in cigarettes enter the breast milk of a nursing mother half an hour after smoking. After an hour and a half, they are removed by about half. After three hours, their concentration decreases significantly, although complete elimination does not occur. Thus, the baby receives a dose of nicotine, tar and other harmful substances.

If a mother considers smoking while breastfeeding possible, she simply must know the consequences:

  • Poor weight gain in a child;
  • Frequent and profuse regurgitation;
  • Intestinal colic;
  • Diarrhea;
  • Nausea and vomiting;
  • Anxiety;
  • Increased excitability;
  • Decreased immunity;
  • Developmental delay.

For the mother herself, in addition to the well-known harm that smokers cause to their body, this bad habit negatively affects the process of breastfeeding. Since smoking provokes a decrease in the secretion of the hormone prolactin, which is responsible for lactation, mothers who smoke produce less breast milk. The lack of breast milk is first compensated for by artificial supplementary feeding, which, in turn, can lead to early weaning of the baby.


No matter how strange it may sound, the harm caused to the child’s health by the mother’s smoking can still be minimized. Smoking while breastfeeding should be carried out according to the following rules:

  • Smoke immediately after feeding. This will allow most of the nicotine to leave breast milk before the next feeding.
  • Breastfeed no earlier than two to three hours after smoking.
  • Reduce the number of cigarettes you smoke per day.
  • Don't smoke at night. At this time of day, large amounts of breast milk are produced.
  • Drink more fluids - clean, still water.
  • Don't smoke in front of your child.
  • Try to prevent the smell of cigarettes from remaining on you and not being associated by the child with the smell of the mother. To do this, hide your hair, do not hold the cigarette with your hands, and change clothes immediately after smoking.



Smoking while breastfeeding is far from the best option for either mother or baby. Today, there are many methods for getting rid of this bad habit. No matter how rude it may sound, smoking while breastfeeding is overt selfishness and outright weakness of the mother. Think about your child’s health and place the correct life priorities and punctuation marks in the sentence: “You can’t smoke - quit!”

Smoking while breastfeeding negatively affects not only the health of the mother, but also the well-being of the baby. Nicotine is absorbed into the blood within half an hour and then reaches the baby through milk. Therefore, smoking and breastfeeding are incompatible things!

Many women look for excuses for themselves, coming up with unsubstantiated facts that smoking during feeding does not affect the quality of milk or the well-being of the baby. The most common misconceptions on this issue are:

  1. Nicotine does not enter the mother’s milk, but “walks” throughout the woman’s body. This is absolute nonsense. When smoking, nicotine first enters the lungs and then into the human blood; within half an hour it is reached in the body. maximum concentration. Spreading throughout the body, the “poison” ends up in the milk.
  2. You can smoke while breastfeeding, because milk neutralizes the negative effects of nicotine on the baby. It is difficult to say what provoked such a myth. You should know that milk does not make nicotine safe for a newborn. True, a smoking mother during breastfeeding causes less harm to her child than those ladies who accustom the baby to passive smoking, exhaling smoke in front of him.

Now you can move on to the facts about smoking while breastfeeding. It is unlikely that there will be a woman who gave up cigarettes during pregnancy, and after giving birth resumed the addiction. Most often, a young mother starts smoking because severe stress, but it’s better not to do this, to be patient a little. After all, the nicotine present in breast milk can negatively affect the baby’s condition. According to experts, a newborn gets a tenth of the cigarette smoked by its mother. It seems that the figure is small, but it is worth considering that the “poison” enters the child’s body constantly, accumulates there, exerting its destructive effect.

The mother’s body can be completely cleansed only after 48 hours; after 90 minutes, the concentration of poisons in milk is reduced by 2 times, but they are still present and can harm the baby.

Women who constantly puff on cigarettes do not give the body the opportunity to cleanse itself; their nicotine remains at a certain level, which means it is also present in milk. That's why you shouldn't get carried away with tobacco during lactation.

The harm of smoking while breastfeeding (video)

Effect of nicotine on milk

Those who decide to smoke while breastfeeding should know how an addiction can affect the quality and quantity of milk. Nicotine negatively affects the production of the hormone prolactin. It is he who is responsible for producing the first food for the newborn. For this reason, those who smoked during lactation have a reduced amount of milk and stop producing it prematurely. Very rarely, women who have the addiction under discussion breastfeed their child for longer than 6 months.

It is precisely because the poison is contained in the newborn's first food that nutrition has bad taste. A child who has never tried anything else will suck on his mother’s breast, but if he had a choice, the baby would refuse harmful milk. Every person who has smoked at least once remembers the taste that remains in the mouth after cigarettes; approximately the same aroma is felt by a baby whose mother cannot give up the bad habit.


The mother’s body can be completely cleansed only after 48 hours; after 90 minutes, the concentration of poisons in milk is reduced by 2 times, but they are still present and can harm the baby

Women who weigh smoking and breastfeeding on the scales often give up the latter and feed their newborn with formula. On the one hand, it is simple and convenient way. Mom does not need to limit herself or think about the effect of nicotine on her baby. But on the other hand, the child remains a loser. He does not receive such valuable and necessary milk during this period. And the woman herself, having gained imaginary freedom, continues to poison herself. Even an experienced smoker can quit tobacco if necessary. A nursing mother should try it, because lactation is not forever, you can be patient a little for the health of the newborn. He has the right to breast milk.

Children and smoking (video)

Consequences of smoking

If a woman smokes while breastfeeding, this behavior can affect the baby's health. Tobacco negatively affects the body of an adult, let alone a newborn.

A child’s body can give the following reaction to an addiction during lactation:

  1. Frequent regurgitation. This phenomenon is observed in infants whose mothers smoke more than 1 pack per day during breastfeeding. The child's body is in a constant state of intoxication. According to doctors, 20 cigarettes per day is the amount that can poison a newborn, causing him irreparable harm. Therefore, women should not smoke in large quantities.
  2. Restless behavior. Some people have this concept of smoking to calm their nerves. IN children's body everything works differently. Nicotine affects the baby's psyche, exciting it. The child becomes nervous, irritable, and cries often and loudly. Such children have severe colic, pain torment them for several hours in a row.
  3. Weakened immunity. Experts say that smoking while breastfeeding makes newborns vulnerable to diseases.
  4. Lack of weight. Since nicotine suppresses the production of prolactin, lactation in a woman with bad habit not very good, the baby does not have enough milk. The newborn does not gain weight well, and frequent regurgitation aggravates the situation.
  5. The risk of developing sudden infant death syndrome increases. Smoking while breastfeeding saturates milk with nicotine, which negatively affects blood vessels, causing them to narrow. This situation can lead to the death of the child.
  6. Poor absorption of nutrients. This has a negative impact on harmonious development baby.

Tobacco negatively affects the body of an adult, let alone a newborn.

Some babies even refuse to breastfeed, since the first food has a nicotine taste rather than milk.

Each woman is free to decide for herself whether it is worth combining smoking and breastfeeding. But before you take up a cigarette, you should think about the consequences for your baby’s health. If you look for reviews of women who smoked, it becomes clear that someone is lucky, and the child does not show anxiety and grows strong and healthy. Others fail to save wellness baby, he sleeps poorly, gains little weight, and is capricious. The most correct decision is to stop breastfeeding, and only then, if you really want to, start poisoning your body again. Lactation is not best time for smoking, that's a fact!