Maternal Smoking Increases Risk of Stillbirths

If all pregnant women in the United States stopped smoking, stillbirths would be reduced by 11 percent and newborn deaths would be reduced by 5 percent.

This smoking statistic is according to the U.S. Public Health Service.

Cigarette smoking not only passes nicotine on to the growing fetus, it also prevents up to 25 percent of the oxygen from reaching the placenta.

With less oxygen, the baby may grow more slowly than normal, resulting in low birth weight.

~Genesee County Health Department, Michigan

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