It is worth saying that there are no two opinions on this issue: smoking and breastfeeding are two incompatible concepts. Pregnancy is often an incentive for a woman to reduce the number of cigarettes she smokes or complete cessation of smoking. However, the more cigarettes your mother will eat, the greater the risk, both for her health and for the health of the baby, regardless of whether she feeds him with breast milk or a baby on artificial feeding.
Breastfeeding and smoking
Smoking can lead to a decrease in milk, which is produced. There are cases when it becomes the cause of some symptoms in the infant, for example, nausea, vomiting, colic.
Mom's smoking is a prerequisite for early weaning, reducing the production of milk and inhibiting the flow of milk, as well as reducing the level of prolactin in the blood. Also, mothers who smoke have metabolic rates slightly higher, which in turn leads to accelerated "wear" of the body. Smoking is also interrelated with the child's anxiety.
Substitutes for cigarettes
From smoking cigarettes quickly formed a strong dependence. Mothers who would like to be cured of dependence on nicotine, may think about the safety of additional funds for cessation of smoking that replace nicotine. With proper application, such remedies are no more dangerous than mother's smoking.
In general, the level of nicotine in milk will be less with nicotine substitutes than those who smoke cigarettes. Women who smoke and use substitutes will have a fairly high level of nicotine in their blood and may expose the baby's dangers. Substitutes do not need to be used at night to have less impact on the baby and make less side effects, for example, nightmares. But mothers who want to use nicotine chewing gum and breastfeed should be advised to refrain from breastfeeding for 2-3 hours after applying the chewing gum.
Tips for smokers who know that it has a negative impact on the child, but still smoke
Smoking reduces milk production therefore:
- From 9 pm to 9 am, smoking is mandatory.
- Smoking after feeding, when there is a break in front of 2 hours.
- Do not smoke more than 5 cigarettes per day.
- Full nutrition and frequent drinking of clean water.
Other harm from smoking
Smoking with breastfeeding also causes other harm. If instead of pure fresh air to inhale smoke into the lungs, then the air bubbles - the alveoli will receive more smoke than air. Smoke includes carbon dioxide, which when combined with the coloring substance of red blood balls will give carboxyhemoglobin. It differs from oskigemoglobin, which introduces into the body the oxygen required for life! This is a compound from which the body gets rid of itself badly and which causes its improper nutrition.
A child who is nursed by a smoking mother is usually weak, often ill, nervous, does not tolerate a variety of diseases, sometimes he suffers from skin and vision damage, in particularly severe cases, deviations in mental development are noticeable. Therefore, the mother who breastfeeds should not smoke.
Outcomes
So, after all of the above, we can summarize. What happens if you combine smoking and breastfeeding?
Firstly, the child will not be good at gaining weight, and also be capricious of intestinal colic.
Secondly, a bad habit will affect the baby's nervous system. He will become easily excitable, he will cry and sleep anxiously.
Thirdly, smoking and breastfeeding are so incompatible that it will affect the immunity decrease, and as a result, frequent colds will appear.
Fourth, you should know that the baby, as well as his mother, will eventually get used to nicotine. If you abstain from smoking during the period of breastfeeding, it will affect the behavior and condition of the baby. There will be anxiety, sleep will become worse, regurgitation will increase, so it is necessary to give up a bad habit much earlier.