Write a 8 pages paper on the effects of smoking during the first trimester. Numerous studies have been conducted to indicate the risk of smoking during pregnancy and strong link between maternal smoki

Write a 8 pages paper on the effects of smoking during the first trimester. Numerous studies have been conducted to indicate the risk of smoking during pregnancy and strong link between maternal smoking in pregnancy and low birth weight of the infant, behavioral dysregulation in a child as well as congenital anomalies have been revealed.&nbsp. Smoking is hazardous to health and cigarette smoking during the period of pregnancy can prove to be harmful not only to the mother but also for the fetus. According to statistics, one out of every eight females smokes during the period of gestation. This is hazardous and the Public Health Service in the United States highlights the fact that there would be a reduction by ten percent in the death of infants if smoking during pregnancy is avoided. It has also been observed that the number of cigarettes smoked also has an impact and there is an inverse relationship between smoking and fetal well-being (Brizer 2003). A rise in the number of female smokers provides for risks for the mother and child which have been reported by various studies. These negative effects include abortion of the fetus spontaneously, ectopic pregnancy as well as congenital defects in the limbs of the newborn baby (Rutter and Quine 2004). Obstetricians label smoking to provide for the most lethal effects on the unborn baby. Robert Welch who is a gynecologist and obstetrician at the Providence Hospital in Michigan has gone as far as saying that smoking is far more dangerous in comparison to chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension. He explains that such chronic conditions can be managed effectively by medications but there is no medication which can prevent the negative effects of smoking on the fetus (Woolston 2013). Cigarette smoking during pregnancy is associated with many negative outcomes and thus expecting mothers should quit their habit for both their wellbeing and the wellbeing of the fetus. Smoking by pregnant women results in physical and mental developmental delays in the newborn child. This can be due to various reasons. A significant cause of this is the poor nutrition of the smoking women and their diets are mainly lacking essential micronutrients. Another drawback noticed in smoking females is that even if they tend to manage a balanced diet, their body levels of important substances which include vitamin A, E, and C are lesser than levels of non-smoking females. Smoking during pregnancy can also provide for adverse and undesired effects for the mother. These women have a higher susceptibility to suffering from “abruption placentae, placenta previa, spontaneous abortions, stillbirths, preterm births, premature rupture of the membranes and amnionitis.” All these pathologies of pregnancy can affect the health of the mother and put her at the risk of serious complications (Morgan and Dickerson 2003). The smoke of cigarette comprises of chemicals above four thousand and it also contains sixty compounds which may lead to cancer and these are the main culprits for the fetal effects seen in smoking mothers. When a woman smokes during the period of pregnancy, these chemicals make way through the maternal bloodstream affect the supply of oxygen as well as nutrients to the fetus. All of the chemicals of cigarette smoke are associated with negative effects but the most harmful components of this smoke are nicotine and carbon monoxide.