Maternal smoking while breastfeeding

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Regarding this topic, the opinion of scientists and doctors is clear: smoking while breastfeeding is undesirable. But, unfortunately, many smoking mothers do not give up this addiction either during pregnancy or after the birth of a child, and even when they are breastfeeding. However, women who smoke often ask themselves: what is the danger of smoking while breastfeeding? Can they breastfeed or do they need to quit smoking in order 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 this article.

Deadly effects from exposure to cigarettes

It has been proven that the lethal dose of nicotine for a he althy person is 60 mg (if you eat tobacco), while one cigarette contains approximately 9 mg of nicotine. This is a lethal dose for a one-year-old child whose weight is on averageno more than 10 kg, can accidentally find a cigarette and eat it. Secondhand smoke has been proven to be even more toxic than the smoke inhaled by a smoker. Nicotine is very harmful to a child, not only in the form of passive smoking, but even in the format of a smoking mother touching a child, since nicotine penetrates the body even through the skin. If a child just takes this cigarette and crushes and breaks it with his hands, then this is also very dangerous for his he alth. Therefore, parents need to be careful where you leave cigarettes and whether your child can get to them.

Why are cigarettes harmful?

Every woman knows how bad smoking is for a person, as well as the consequences of smoking while breastfeeding. But unfortunately, fewer and fewer pregnant women are able to give up this bad habit for the sake of their baby's he alth. Perhaps they do not know that each cigarette contains more than 3,900 elements dangerous to the human body, and of this number, approximately 60 can affect the occurrence of cancer. This is all due to smoking.

Does nicotine pass into milk during breastfeeding?

Yes, your baby can get nicotine through breast milk. After a woman has smoked 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, getting into breast milk. Nicotine affects the blood vessels and milk ducts, constricts them,slows down the access of oxygen to the tissues and makes it difficult to produce milk. At the same time, the content of nicotine in the blood is the same as in breast milk. After a certain time (2.5 hours), the poison is removed from both the blood and breast milk.

Important

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

Examples of scientific studies on maternal smoking while breastfeeding

1. If a mother smokes more than 21 cigarettes a day during breastfeeding, the harm caused by nicotine to the baby increases several times. Frequent smoking causes a reduction in milk supply and in rare cases causes certain symptoms in a 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,decreases by 50% when smoking.
3. If there are people in the house who smoke, then in these families children are at increased risk of such 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 the father and mother smoke in the house, this can double the risk of lung cancer in the baby in the future.
5. 45% of babies fed by smoking mothers have been shown to have colic (3-4 hours of intense crying) compared to 28% of babies breastfed by non-smoking mothers. However, the relationship between colic and smoking is also observed with artificial feeding of the child. Studies have shown that colic is a kind of migraine in children, and it does not matter if the mother herself smokes or someone else in the house, 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, causing pain and anxiety. The venom also damages the upper parts of the digestive tract - the child often burps, eats less and therefore gains weight poorly.
7. Researchers have also suggested that breast milk promotes brain development and helps counteract the adverse effects of cigarette smoking during pregnancy.

Expert advice

If we turn to the judgment of Evgeny Komarovsky about smoking while breastfeeding, then hebelieves that if a nursing mother understands that smoking is bad, but at the same time cannot quit this bad habit, then it is necessary to limit the amount of nicotine entering milk. First, the mother should smoke cigarettes with minimal nicotine content and do so as little as possible. After all, there are no drugs and vitamins that could neutralize the effects of nicotine, otherwise all smokers would use these saving pills. Also, additional and necessary actions are to ensure that the child eats well, breathes a lot of fresh air. Subject to all recommendations, the danger of nicotine will be minimal. Regarding feeding, there is nothing better than mother's milk for a child.

Nicotine substitutes

Nicotine blood levels in smokers (over 21 cigarettes a day) are about 43 nanograms per milliliter, while the same level in most nicotine substitutes averages 16 nanograms per milliliter. Thus, when using nicotine chewing 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 constant and yet lower plasma nicotine level than nicotine gum, as it can lead to greater variation in plasma nicotine levels. That is, when such chewing gum is chewed quickly, nicotine enters the bloodstream in the same amount as when smoking a cigarette. Physicians recommend that mothers who wish to use these nicotine gums while breastfeeding do not breastfeed.baby within 2-3 hours after using this gum.

Tips and tricks for smoking moms

1. If you have the willpower and, most importantly, the desire to have a he althy baby, then stop smoking altogether!
2. If that doesn't work, then try to minimize the number of cigarettes you use per day. Research scientists recommend smoking up to a maximum of 5 cigarettes per day.
3. Smoke immediately after breastfeeding, that is, try to make the time from smoking to the next feeding pass as much as possible so that the blood is cleared of nicotine to some extent, thereby preventing the harm of smoking during breastfeeding time was minimal. For example, it takes 1.5 hours for at least half of the nicotine to be eliminated from your body.
4. Do not smoke indoors with a baby, since passive smoking of a baby is much worse than breastfeeding a mother who smokes. Smoke better outside, away from your child, and do not let anyone smoke near your child.
5. Do not smoke between 9pm and 9am. Since the harm from smoking during breastfeeding is more dangerous during this period, due to the fact that smoking at night also increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
6. In order for harmful substances to be removed from the body faster, it is necessary to consume as much liquid as possible.
7. Change into other clothes after smoking, wash your hands well from the smell of tobacco. Must be thoroughly cleanedteeth.
8. It is necessary to pay special attention to proper nutrition. Try to eat nutritious and mineral-rich foods and get the vitamins you need.

How to quit smoking?

If you are a mother who smokes and breastfeeds, then you need to think about this problem. To independently 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. It can be anything, such as improving your he alth and the he alth of your child, the opportunity to play sports, saving money, and much more. First of all, it is you who should become a good example for your children, since a child, looking at his parents, will also build his personal life.

Conclusion

According to the feedback about smoking while breastfeeding, it can be concluded that if you have a choice between two options, namely: stop feeding and smoking because you cannot stop smoking, or breastfeeding and smoking. Then you must always remember that, firstly, every month of breastfeeding, in percentage terms, reduces the risk of a woman developing ovarian cancer and breast cancer. Second, if you choose to smoke and not breastfeed your baby, the formula-fed baby has a significantly higher risk of infections, respiratory problems, allergies, asthma, and attention deficit disorder than babies whose smoking mothers continued to breastfeed.

And remember that breastfeeding is always a better option, in case of smoking, than breastmilk substitutes. Because of the unique value of breast milk, which can more than offset the harmful effects of smoking, at least compared to formula feeding.