In 2006, Dr. Chan-Yeung, professor of medicine at the University of British Columbia, conducted urine tests on two-week old babies for levels of cotinine, a broken-down form of nicotine in the body. Only breastfed babies of mothers who smoked were studied. He found high levels of cotinine in the babies. He believed the level can be as high as a smoker who smokes about 20 cigarettes a day.
He commented that even if the mother smoked less than 10 cigarettes a day, the infant will still receive the same high level of cotinine. This is because cotinine becomes concentrated in breast milk. It is up to three times more than that in the mother's blood stream.
What can cotinine do to babies? Researchers at the University of Western Australia believe that cotinine has minimal or no effect on the cardiovascular or endocrine system. The cotinine found in breast milk doesn't pose any health hazards for the babies. It only stimulates the babies.
However, this does not imply that smoking is safe for your child. Maternal smoking still affects your baby in some ways.
A study in 1989 showed that 40% of breastfed babies by smoking mothers had colic. The percentage of colicky breastfed babies by non-smoking mothers was lower at 26%.
Another study indicated that bottlefed babies with smoking mothers experienced 7 times higher respiratory illness compared to breastfed babies with smoking mothers. One interesting finding revealed that the increasing risk of respiratory illness in babies relates more to the exposure of passive smoking and not to ingested tobacco products through breast feeding. This means that babies, breastfed or not, when exposed to environmental tobacco smoke or better known as second hand smoke, experience higher risk of developing respiratory problems.
According to "The Breastfeeding Answer Book" by La Leche League International, babies of mothers who smoke less than 20 cigarettes a day encounter little impact. However, when the number of cigarettes exceeds 20, the babies' health risks shoots up. They become more prone to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) nausea, vomiting, pneumonia, bronchitis, abdominal cramps and diarrhea.
So, the question is "Is it fine for me to smoke when I breastfeed my baby?" If you find it challenging to quit smoking, then you need work out ways to protect your baby from your smoking. However, the sure way is to give up smoking entirely. It will save your child and yourself.
Michael Cage is a content writer at Health Maestro Blog. If you want to quit smoking for good, visit deadlypuff.com to discover more tips.
