Jun. 1, 2008 - Breastfeeding and smoking...
I recently finished up some work / research on a handout we are going to be using at the hospital I work at for our newly delivered moms and newborns. It is about smoking and the fact that it is BETTER to smoke and breastfeed than to smoke and formula feed .Babies of smoking mothers need the extra help that breastmilk delivers and formula can't. Read my work below on this subject. It took me a while to do, but it is headed to the print shop at the hospital so we can distribute to our patients....
Should a mother who can’t stop smoking breastfeed ??
YES, YES, YES !!
It IS best if breastfeeding moms don’t smoke, BUT if a MOM can't stop or cut back on smoking, she should continue to breastfeed rather than switch to formula feeding. Mom’s milk is the best milk for babies!
WHY ??- Because Breastfeeding provides many immunities that help your baby fight illness and can even help minimize some of the effects of cigarette smoke on your baby.
How does smoking affect the mother?
- Smoking has been linked to lower milk production
- Smoking can interfere with milk let-down, this gives baby less milk.
How does smoking affect the baby?
Passive Smoking is the smoke the baby inhales just from being around a smoker.
- When babies breathe second hand smoke they have a higher incidence of pneumonia, asthma, ear infections, bronchitis, sinus infections, eye irritation, and croup. Children of smoking parents have two to three times more visits to the doctor, usually from respiratory infections or allergy-related illnesses.
- Colic occurs more often. Heavy smoking by breastfeeding moms occasionally causes symptoms in the breastfeeding baby such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps and diarrhea.
- Babies of smoking parents have a seven times greater chance of death from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
- Children who are exposed to passive smoke have lower blood levels of HDL which is the good cholesterol that helps protect against coronary artery disease.
- A recent study found that growing up in a home in which two parents smoked, doubles the child’s risk of lung cancer later in life could.
- One study showed that children of smoking mothers have a decrease in the production of a major protein in the brain that helps children with learning and memorizing.
Please don’t put any child in an environment where they are forced to breathe second hand smoke.
Here’s how you can lower the risk to your baby if you do smoke…
It is ideal to stop smoking if at all possible.
1. Cut down on the number of cigarettes you smoke per day. The less you smoke the better. Smoking 20 cigarettes a day or more raises the risks.
2. Don’t smoke immediately before or during breastfeeding. It will limit let down of your milk. This gives baby less milk.
3. Smoke right after you nurse. This will lower the amount of nicotine that will go into your breast milk the next time the baby nurses.
4. Wait as long as you can after smoking before breastfeeding again. It takes about 90 minutes for half of the nicotine to be cleared from your body.
5. It has been found that your milk may taste like cigarettes for up to an hour after smoking. So nurse first, and then smoke!
6. Nicotine replacement products are better than smoking. You can talk with your caregiver about these. Don’t ever smoke while using these. This is dangerous due to how high the level of nicotine could get for you and the baby.
Comments
Jun. 1, 2008 - Untitled Comment
Posted by a teen mother
im gllad you did a report on this, i smoke and breastfeed and everyone thinks i'm crazy! they dont believe that its better to smoke and breastfeed than smoke and formula feed
