Are there any anti-smoking programs for pregnant women?

Question

Hello doctor,

My 34-year-old daughter has been smoking a pack a day for 15 years, and I need help getting her to quit, especially now that she’s pregnant with her second child. She participated in an anti-smoking campaign at work last year and quit for three months, but started again when she found out her husband was cheating. Now she’s 16 weeks pregnant and still smoking, which is breaking my heart because I know how dangerous it is for the baby.

Her obstetrician doctor keeps telling her about the risks, but she says nicotine gum makes her nauseous and nicotine patches give her skin rashes. She tried hypnosis and acupuncture, but nothing worked long-term. The anti-smoking campaign materials from her workplace had good information, but she says stress from divorce proceedings makes it impossible to quit right now.

Her first baby was born early at 35 weeks and had breathing problems, which doctors said were probably from smoking during pregnancy. I am so worried this baby will have even worse problems. She works as a nurse, so she knows all the medical reasons to quit, but addiction is stronger than her knowledge. What anti-smoking resources actually work for pregnant women? Can you help me find programs specifically for healthcare workers?

Please help.

Thank you.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I can understand your concern.

I am deeply concerned about your worries. Most people understand that smoking increases the risk for heart, vascular, and lung disease. Many do not realize that smoking can also lead to problems with fertility in both men and women. Erectile dysfunction and pregnancy complication rates are also increased with smoking.

Chemicals such as nicotine, cyanide, and carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke speed up the loss rate of eggs. Unfortunately, once eggs die off, they cannot regenerate or be replaced. This means that menopause occurs one to four years earlier in women who smoke compared with non-smokers.

Even fertility treatments such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) may not be able to fully overcome the effects of smoking on fertility. Female smokers may require more ovary-stimulating medications during IVF, have fewer eggs at retrieval time, and experience 30 percent lower pregnancy rates compared with women undergoing IVF who do not smoke.

Because smoking damages the genetic material in eggs and sperm, miscarriage and birth defect rates are higher among patients who smoke. Smokeless tobacco also increases miscarriage rates, and e-cigarette use (vaping) may also cause problems for both pregnancy and the baby. Women who smoke are more likely to conceive a pregnancy with abnormal chromosomes (such as Down syndrome) compared to non-smoking mothers. Ectopic pregnancies, preterm labor, and preterm prelabor rupture of membranes also occur more often among female smokers.

Management-

Consult an obstetrician and gynecologist.
Attend antenatal checkups at 20 weeks, 24 weeks, 28 weeks, 34 weeks, 36 weeks, 38 weeks, and 40 weeks.
Have an anomaly scan at 18 to 20 weeks.

Complete baseline investigations:

Blood group and crossmatching.
Complete blood count.
Random blood sugar.
Viral markers.

Take a tablet of Ferrous sulphate 200 mg once at night until delivery.

I hope this helps.

Kindly follow up if you have more concerns.

Thank you...