Hello Dear Mothers,
Recently, I have been watching with interest the discussions on breastfeeding mothers smoking on some social and health sites on the internet. As a pediatrician and as a person who loves children very much, this is the issue. I wanted to share my knowledge and opinions on the subject, in summary, with you, dear mothers, once again:
If a mother smokes, the side effects of smoking on the baby occur in 2 ways. The first is with the cigarette smoke spread into the environment. This method, called passive smoking, is the cause of death of 1 million out of 5 million people who die from smoking every year. If you do not share the same environment with your baby while smoking, you will protect him from the danger of airborne effects. The second but much more important way that affects the baby is the high amount of poisonous and harmful substances that pass to the baby through your breast milk. are chemical substances.
Nicotine passes directly from the mother's blood to breast milk. This transition is so fast that before a mother finishes her cigarette, nicotine passes into breast milk. In addition, if a baby smokes near a baby, the baby is directly exposed to nicotine.
Research shows that there are approximately 4000 (you read that right, four thousand) chemical compounds in cigarette smoke, and at least 60 of them are cancer-causing compounds.
Smoking by a breastfeeding mother is very harmful and even dangerous for her baby. Chemical substances, especially nicotine, passed to the baby through breast milk, can cause restlessness, insomnia, palpitations and growth slowdown in the baby. In addition, the risk of children in this situation contracting asthma is higher than that of mothers who do not smoke. is much higher than that of their children.
If the breastfeeding mother smokes:
*Nicotine spoils the taste of milk, which suppresses the baby's appetite.
*Nicotine causes the baby to become irritable, refuse to breastfeed, excessive crying, abdominal cramps and even diarrhea.
*If the mother smokes excessively, nicotine passing into breast milk causes nausea and vomiting in the baby.
*Nicotine can disrupt the baby's sleep patterns. Because nicotine is a stimulant.
*Nicotine disrupts the normal development of the baby's lungs.
*Breastfeeding A hormone called prolactin is secreted in the body of most mothers. This hormone ensures the secretion of milk from the mother's breasts. Nicotine disrupts the secretion of this hormone, causing the mother's milk to decrease.
*Mothers who smoke stop breastfeeding earlier than mothers who do not smoke.
*Pneumonia, ear infections, asthma, bronchitis, sinusitis, eye irritations and croup are more common in babies exposed to cigarette smoke.
*There is a type of death colloquially called 'crib death'. This condition, medically called SUDDEN INFANT DEATH SYNDROME, is more common in children of mothers who smoke. A healthy baby dies in his bed for no apparent reason. It is no longer possible to intervene. Moreover, it is scientifically impossible to say that the babies of mothers who smoke less do not face this danger. Unfortunately, the babies of smoker mothers who breastfeed their babies face such a danger at all times.
It is very necessary and very important for you to breastfeed your babies until they are 1.5 years old and even up to 2 years old. You cannot replace breast milk with any food.
NO FORMULATION IS AS USEFUL AS BREAST'S MILK. BUT NO FORMULATION IS AS HARMFUL AS SPOILED BREAST'S MILK.
I feel so sad when I see a mother who smokes because of the terrible dangers that the baby of a breastfeeding mother faces that sometimes I cannot stop my eyes from filling with tears. I would like to ask you very much, please, at least until your babies are 12 months old to protect them with their own rights and yours. Do not deprive them of breast milk, of which you are only the mediator and presenter. But do not poison those innocent babies, who are incapable of defending themselves, with your milk, which you have made harmful by smoking.
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