Smoking: Problems With Pregnancy

Topic Overview

If you are a woman who smokes and you are thinking about getting pregnant or are pregnant, now is a good time to quit smoking. Women who smoke may have a harder time getting pregnant. Women who smoke are more likely to have the following problems:^{footnote 1}

• Stillbirths and miscarriages.
• Babies who grow more slowly in the uterus and weigh less than expected when born (low birth weight).
• Children who have learning, emotional, and behavioral problems.

If you quit smoking before you become pregnant (or sometime during the first 3 months of your pregnancy), your risk of having a baby with low birth weight is the same as that of a woman who does not smoke. Women who quit later in their pregnancy still reduce the risk of problems for their babies.