A member asked:

Im 27 weeks pregnant and still smoke, tried to give up but no willpower, not allowed any substitutes, realistically what damage am i doing to babies?

10 doctors weighed in across 3 answers

Please discuss with: Your ob, smoking can cause iugr, can lead to certain long term fetal problems and can also sometimes lead to placental abruption which is a bad emergency where the placental separates before term and an emergency c-section needs to be done and sometimes it is not done in time which could lead to CP or fetal death, smoking is very bad when u are pregnant.

Answered 6/10/2014

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Damages placenta: The simplest answer is it causes the tiny blood vessels in the placenta to shrink & over time will drop the babies weight at birth by a pound. The nicotine also affects babies brain as a stimulant, causing irritability of the nervous system. After delivery, the nicotine in babies system metabolizes very slowly, taking up to 2 days to drop by half.After delivery, risk of crib death is higher.

Answered 12/10/2013

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Lots: Smaller birth weight risk of prematurity and possible poor outcome. Good luck.

Answered 9/18/2013

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