Smoking Among Adults: Reproductive Health

Smoking harms many aspects and every phase of reproduction. Despite having
greater increased knowledge of the adverse health effects of smoking during
pregnancy, many pregnant women and girls continue to smoke (estimates range
from 12% to 22%). It is estimated that only 18% to 25% quit smoking once
they become pregnant. (p. 527)

Women who smoke are at an increased risk for infertility. Studies have shown
that smoking makes it more difficult for women to become pregnant  (p. 534)

Research also has shown that smoking during pregnancy causes health problems
for both mothers and babies, such as pregnancy complications, premature
birth, low-birth-weight infants, stillbirth, and infant death. Low birth
weight is a leading cause of infant deaths, resulting in more than 300,000
deaths annually in the United States. (p. 555, Ventura et al. 2000)

Once pregnant, women who smoke are about twice as likely to experience
complications such as placenta previa, a condition where the placenta grows
too close to the opening of the uterus. This condition frequently leads to
delivery by a Caesarean section. (p. 551)

Pregnant women who smoke also are more likely to have placental abruption,
where the placenta prematurely separates from the wall of the uterus. This
can lead to preterm delivery, stillbirth, or early infant death. Estimates
for risk of placental abruption among smokers range from 1.4 to 2.4 times
that of nonsmokers. (p. 554)

Pregnant smokers also are at a higher risk for premature rupture of
membranes before labor begins. This makes it more likely that a smoker will
carry her baby for a shorter than normal gestation period. (p. 554)

Risk for having a baby in the smallest 5% to 10% of birth weights is as high
as 2.5 times greater for pregnant smokers. (p. 574)

For reasons that are currently unknown, smokers are less likely to have
preeclampsia, a condition that results in high blood pressure and an excess
of protein in the urine. (p. 554)

Citation

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of
Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General. U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center
for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and
Health, 2004.


Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death and has negative
health impacts on people at all stages of life. It harms unborn babies,
infants, children, adolescents, adults, and seniors.