Breastfeeding

Smoking while breastfeeding? Better not for these reasons

We have already talked extensively about smoking during pregnancy. Many women who have successfully quit smoking during pregnancy, once the baby is born, go back to smoking as before. What happens if you smoke while breastfeeding?

A new mother’s stress can reach astronomical levels in the early postpartum period and there are those who take refuge in smoking as an outlet.

There are many women who “give in to temptation” like those mothers who are unable to stop smoking during pregnancy , perhaps simply reduce the amount, but actively resume after giving birth. Unfortunately, nicotine is addictive and not everyone has the willpower to stop permanently, the only useful solution for their own health and that of the child.

What happens if you smoke while breastfeeding?

Nicotine is a substance that passes into breast milk. It has a half-life of about 97 minutes (just over an hour and a half) and will be found in milk for up to three hours after smoking. This means that if you breastfeed after smoking, your baby will absorb the nicotine you inhaled.

At this point you can object by saying that you choose to smoke after feeding. But if you practice breastfeeding on demand (which is what is done above all in the first weeks of the baby’s life) it is not possible to impose certain rhythms on the baby.

If you still choose to smoke, wait 3-4 hours before breastfeeding again even if it means expressing and throwing out some milk in the meantime.

Don’t switch to bottle-feeding under the guise of smoking.

Breast milk, even if it contains nicotine, still has more benefits than powdered milk. Infants who are formula-fed are more likely to suffer the ill effects of secondhand smoke than a breastfed infant 

Try to avoid smoking in the car or in the house and obviously don’t smoke near the child. If we wanted to be fussy, we would have to wear special clothes or overcoats, because the smoke penetrates the fabrics, hair and skin . But at this point it’s much easier to quit smoking, why complicate your life further?

What effects does nicotine and smoking in general have on the child?

Nicotine and other harmful chemicals found in cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco and chewing tobacco end up in breast milk when you smoke. The child is exposed to these substances both through milk but also by inhalation and the more cigarettes smoked, the higher the risk for the newborn.

An infant exposed to nicotine may have an increased risk of SIDS (cot death).

Quitting smoking, not exposing your baby to secondhand smoke, and breastfeeding are three effective ways to protect your baby from SIDS.

Researchers have difficulty distinguishing between the harmful effects of secondhand smoke and the effects of nicotine passed on to the baby through breast milk. What we do know is that children whose mothers smoke are more likely to develop a wide range of health problems . They are more irritable and suffer from more colic than infants whose mothers do not smoke, and are at increased risk of respiratory and gastrointestinal illnesses requiring hospital care.

They may have an increased risk of experiencing episodes of apnea (stop breathing for short periods of time), vomiting, stunting, squinting, hearing problems, allergies, and immunodeficiency problems.

Nicotine is a toxic substance , and exposure to high levels of nicotine through breast milk has the potential to cause nicotine addiction and nicotine poisoning in the infant. Signs of nicotine addiction in children include withdrawal symptoms such as trouble sleeping, headaches, and irritability. Symptoms of nicotine poisoning in babies include vomiting after feeding, grayish color of the skin, an increased heart rate and restlessness.

These latter symptoms are rare, and only occur in those children who are exposed to a lot of smoke. Something that common sense usually avoids.

What effects does cigarette smoke have on mothers?

This is not the right place to talk about the negative effects of smoking on health in general (if you want to read them, you can find the long list here).

As far as breastfeeding is concerned, smoking lowers the levels of prolactin in the blood. One study (Hopkinson et al 1992) clearly suggests that cigarette smoking significantly reduces breast milk production two weeks after delivery, from 514 milliliters per day in non-smokers to 406 milliliters per day in smoking mothers.

If milk production decreases, the baby no longer receives the right amount of nutrients to allow him to grow regularly.

Smoking can decrease the quality of breast milk. This can affect your child’s growth and ability to fight off infection. The chemicals in smoking decrease the amounts of iodine (a mineral) and vitamins in breast milk.

We often hear people say “ better than 20 cigarettes to smoke 2-3 and feel good ”. The question is: how can we feel good if we are aware that, however little or much, smoking (direct or passive) is bad for us and for our baby we are breastfeeding or carrying?

Dr Kathryn Barlow

Kathryn Barlow is an OB/GYN doctor, which is the medical specialty that deals with the care of women's reproductive health, including pregnancy and childbirth.

Obstetricians provide care to women during pregnancy, labor, and delivery, while gynecologists focus on the health of the female reproductive system, including the ovaries, uterus, vagina, and breasts. OB/GYN doctors are trained to provide medical and surgical care for a wide range of conditions related to women's reproductive health.

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