Help create smoking cessation programs for pregnant smokers

Senator Denise Harper Angel, in Kentucky, has introduced
BR11 which states the following:

Amend KRS 205.560 to require smoking cessation programs or treatment interventions for pregnant smokers to be in accordance with protocols and guidelines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

More than 2,500 chemicals are present in cigarette smoke. Even though the chemicals that are directly harmful to the developing baby are not known, nicotine and carbon monoxide cause unpleasant pregnancy outcomes. In the United States, at least 10 percent of women smoke while pregnant. If all pregnant women in the US stopped smoking, there would be an estimated 11 percent reduction in stillbirths and a 5 percent reduction in newborn deaths.

More than 2,500 chemicals are present in cigarette smoke. Even though the chemicals that are directly harmful to the developing baby are not known, nicotine and carbon monoxide cause unpleasant pregnancy outcomes.

Smoking while pregnant causes many birth defects:
1. It doubles the risk of having a low-birth weight baby (weighing less than 5 1/2 pounds).
2. It slows the growth of the fetus.
3. It increases the risk of premature birth.
4. It increases the risk of serious health problems during the newborn period.
5. It can ultimately cause chronic lifelong disabilities such as cerebral palsy, mental retardation, and learning problems, and even death.

Smoking while pregnant causes pregnancy complications and doubles the risk of developing placental problems:
1. Placenta previa which is a low-lying placenta that covers part or all of the opening of the uterus;
2. Placental abruption, in which the placenta peels away, partially or almost completely, from the uterine wall before delivery.

According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence, good smoking cessation programs give 20 to 40 percent of participants courage to quit smoking. Statistics show that if all pregnant women in the US stopped smoking, there would be an estimated 11 percent reduction in stillbirths and a 5 percent reduction in newborn deaths.

All information courtesy of www.marchofdimes.com

As advocates for pregnant women, especially teens, we want to eliminate the presence of smoking pregnant women. Education will, through this bill, and must be presented to those who are unaware of what their smoking habits are doing to their unborn child.