Female holding a home pregnancy test in her hands.

Pregnant and Postpartum Women

Smoking when you are pregnant or postpartum can lead to serious health problems for you and your baby.

Pregnancy and Tobacco Use

Using tobacco products during pregnancy — cigarettes, cigars, e-cigarettes, hookah and smokeless tobacco — exposes potentially lethal toxins to you and your baby. Tobacco products introduce these chemicals to your bloodstream, which your baby shares with you. The fate of your child relies on your choices.

Nicotine should never be used by pregnant women. Pave the way for you and your child to lead a smoke-free pregnancy and a smoke-free life.

Learn More About Quitting

Parental Tobacco Use

EFFECTS ON THE MOTHER

Protect your growing family, and avoid nicotine during and after pregnancy. When pregnant women use tobacco, they can:

Have decreased energy.
Struggle to breathe.
Experience more fertility issues.
Have a higher likelihood of miscarriage.
Have a higher risk of delivering early.
Be susceptible to the placenta separating from the womb early and causing dangerous bleeding.

Parental Tobacco Use

Effects on the Baby

Developing fetuses are especially vulnerable to the dangerous effects of nicotine. If tobacco is used during the pregnancy, the baby can:

Parental Tobacco Use

EFFECTS ON THE BABY

Developing fetuses are especially vulnerable to the dangerous effects of nicotine. If tobacco is used during the pregnancy, the baby:

Is exposed to harmful chemicals like carcinogens, flavorings that cause lung disease and heavy metals.
Has a limited oxygen supply.
Has a limited nutrient supply.
Experiences irreversible damage to its developing brain and other essential organs.
Is more vulnerable to birth defects.
Is more likely to be born prematurely and/or underweight.
Has a higher risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

Be exposed to
harmful chemicals

Have a limited
oxygen supply

Have a limited
nutrient supply

experience damage to its brain and other organs

Be more vulnerable to birth defects

Be more likely to be born prematurely

Have a higher risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)

be more likely to be born underweight

Following childbirth, infants and children are susceptible to secondhand and thirdhand smoke. Smoking or vaping around children can expose them to the same harmful chemicals that the smoker inhales in the air, secondhand. These chemicals then settle onto surfaces and items, exposing children to thirdhand smoke, which is still harmful.

Remain smoke-free, and ensure your family and friends keep their tobacco habits away from your kids.

Learn More About Secondhand and Thirdhand Smoke