Tobacco and Pregnancy
Tobacco and Pregnancy (Text Version)
[Cigarette illustration with smoke covering the page]
Smoking during pregnancy is dangerous for you and your fetus. If you use cigarettes or e-cigarettes, now is the time to quit.
[Profile view of a pregnant figure, colored in shades of brown]
Quitting smoking will help you have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby.
[Cigarette icon with a no symbol (red circle with a red diagonal line) in front of it]
Risks for your fetus
[fetus icon]
- Delayed growth
- Higher chance of being born too early
- Permanent brain and lung damage
- Higher risk of stillbirth
Risks for your newborn
[baby icon]
- Smaller size at birth
- Colic with uncontrollable crying
- Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
- Development of obesity and asthma during childhood
Risks For You
[pregnant woman icon]
- Ectopic pregnancy (a pregnancy outside the uterus)
- Problems with the placenta
- Problems with your thyroid
- Water breaking too early
Did You Know?
- Nicotine is only one of 4,000 toxic chemicals in cigarettes.
- Using e-cigarettes (vaping) is not a safe substitute for smoking cigarettes.
- Other smokeless tobacco products, like snuff and gel strips, also are not safe.
- Secondhand smoke can cause growth problems for your fetus and increase your baby’s risk of SIDS.
If you need help quitting, talk with your obstetrician–gynecologist (ob-gyn) or other health care professional. Or call the national smoker’s quit line at 1-800-QUIT-NOW. [phone icon]
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists believes that pregnant women who use tobacco should receive counseling to help them quit. Your ob-gyn or other health care professional can offer advice about quitting at your first prenatal visit or at any time throughout your pregnancy.
[ACOG icon]
PFSI014: This information is designed as an educational aid to patients and sets forth current information and opinions related to women’s health. It is not intended as a statement of the standard of care, nor does it comprise all proper treatments or methods of care. It is not a substitute for a treating clinician’s independent professional judgment. For ACOG’s complete disclaimer, visit www.acog.org/WomensHealth-Disclaimer.
Copyright April 2020 by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, posted on the internet, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher.