WARREN — Help is available to local mothers who want to quit smoking.
Quitting all forms of tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, is best for mothers and their babies.
For help quitting and to increase the chances of a healthy baby, call 1-800-QUIT NOW, the PA Free Quitline, to get up to 10 free personalized coaching sessions, with rewards for each completed session. Mothers can also contact Claire Coffin for local services at (814) 406-5662.
The Northwest Pennsylvania Tobacco Control Program is urging pregnant women and women of child-bearing age in Pennsylvania to stop smoking or using nicotine.
Pregnant women who smoke or who are exposed to secondhand smoke can harm their unborn babies, as well as themselves.
Mothers who smoke during pregnancy are more likely to deliver their babies early or with low birth weight, even if they are full term. Smoking during pregnancy can also increase the risk of babies being born with cleft lips and/or palates, club feet or heart defects. It can also cause ectopic pregnancy or lead to miscarriage. Babies whose mothers smoke during pregnancy or who are exposed to secondhand smoke after birth are also more likely to die of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
Exposure to secondhand smoke can also cause respiratory infections and ear infections in children and coronary heart disease, stroke, and lung cancer in adult nonsmokers.
Today, about half of all the children between ages 3 and 18 years in this country are exposed to cigarette smoke regularly, either at home or in places such as restaurants that still allow smoking. Secondhand smoke can increase the risk of asthma attacks in infants and trigger more severe asthma in children of all ages. There is no safe level of secondhand smoke exposure.
Quitting smoking and giving up nicotine during pregnancy should also include the use of e-cigarettes. This is because e-cigarettes usually contain nicotine, which can hurt pregnant women and their babies. Nicotine is addictive and can damage a developing baby’s brain and lungs. E-cigarettes may also contain other substances that are harmful to a developing baby, like heavy metals, flavorings and cancer-causing chemicals.
