One in 14 women who are pregnant smoke during pregnancy. Smoking while pregnant increases the risk of the baby dying during or after pregnancy. Every day babies are dying because of their parents’ belief that it is their decision if they should smoke or not, if their child should be healthy or not. For many years, scientists have been evaluating the effects of smoking while pregnant. The studies show that there are terrible effects that can last a lifetime, or even end the babies life. Smoking while pregnant should be punishable by law since it harms the child, chemicals absorb into the fetus and it is safer to quit early in the pregnancy. Smoking while pregnant can affect the child for the rest of his or her life. Pregnancy smoking can cause premature birth/rupture, miscarriages, low birth weight and infant death syndrome. However, throughout the child's life, they can face other problems such as asthma, weaker lungs, heart disease, diabetes and even cancer. Experts state “Everytime a pregnant woman smokes a cigarette, it cuts down oxygen to her unborn baby and exposes the baby to a cocktail of chemicals, including chemicals that cause cancer” (Victorian State). This quote shows that smoking one cigarette while …show more content…
There are over 4,000 toxic chemicals in a single cigarette. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have a site where they inform their readers, “When a woman smokes cigarettes during pregnancy, her fetus is exposed to many dangerous chemicals”(The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists). Nicotine is one of the chemicals in a cigarette and it constricts blood vessels. Restricted blood vessels cause less oxygen to reach the fetus along with a lack of nutrients. With this in mind, in a case where a mother has a smoked at the beginning of her pregnancy, in order to effect the baby as least as possible, the mother should stop smoking as soon as