You’ve had your baby and you’re breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is the best way to give your baby the nutrition they need to grow up healthy and strong. But did you know that if you smoke cigarettes, the chemicals in the smoke can make their way into your breast milk and harm your baby? Smoking and breastfeeding causes many health problems for both smoking mothers and their breastfed babies.
Smoking while breastfeeding exposes your baby to harmful chemicals and reduces your milk supply. Here are the major dangers you need to know:
Smoking and Breastfeeding Impact #1. Smoking and breastfeeding increases your baby’s risk of illness
When a breastfeeding mother smokes, the levels of nicotine of her breast milk increase. The level of nicotine transferred to breast milk represents double the amount that is transferred to blood.
As well as the dangers from the exposure to secondhand smoke, the effect of exposure to nicotine and other harmful chemicals that are passed into the breast milk of a smoking mother is to increase her child’s likelihood of suffering from acute respiratory illness and impaired lung function, as well as respiratory infections, such as bronchitis and pneumonia.
Nicotine in breast milk can also cause vomiting, diarrhea and irritability in babies.
Smoking and Breastfeeding Impact #2. Smoking decreases breast milk supply
Research has found that the milk supply in breastfeeding mothers who smoke cigarettes is lower than in mothers who don’t smoke.
One of the main hormones involved in milk production is prolactin. Prolactin is not only responsible for milk production but also for the development of mammary glands in the breast tissue.
Results from studies found that smoking 5 cigarettes a day significantly decreased prolactin serum concentration in women from weeks 35-38 of pregnancy.
For more information on smoking and pregnancy, you can read BellyBelly’s article What Are The Effects Of Smoking While Pregnant? Risks and Facts.
Results from studies assessing breast milk output from mothers who expressed breast milk after the birth of their babies found that milk production was significantly less when mothers smoke.
Smoking and Breastfeeding Impact #3. Smoking changes breast milk composition
Iodine is an essential nutrient for postpartum women and their babies.
You can read more about this in BellyBelly’s article Iodine While Breastfeeding | Why It Is Important.
During the period of breastfeeding, normal thyroid function of the breastfed infant depends on adequate levels of iodine in breast milk. Iodine is also vital for the normal development of the brain and nervous system.
Research has found that the amount of iodine in the breast milk of mothers who smoke is lower than in mothers who don’t smoke.
Babies who have an iodine deficiency are at a greater risk of induced brain damage.
Smoking and Breastfeeding Impact #4. Smoking increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
Results from numerous studies have found an increased risk of SIDS in babies exposed to cigarette smoke.
Further investigation into infants who died from SIDS found that levels of nicotine were not significantly higher in breastfed infants of smoking mothers than in infants of smoking mothers who formula fed. These findings suggest that passive smoking is the major cause of the increased risk.
Breastfeeding reduces an infant’s risk of dying from sudden infant death syndrome by half. However, continuing to breastfeed and smoke increases your baby’s nicotine exposure. A number of studies have also found a dose response effect in the increased risk.
For SIDS prevention tips, you can read BellyBelly’s article SIDS Prevention – 6 Ways To Reduce The Risk.
Smoking and Breastfeeding Impact #5. Smoking and breastfeeding disturb your baby’s sleep
Research has found that maternal smoking causes sleep disturbances in breastfed babies.
An experimental study involved measuring the level of nicotine present in the breast milk of 15 mothers on days they had smoked and on days they had refrained from smoking. It was discovered that infants spent significantly less time sleeping when their milk contained higher levels of nicotine.
This highlights the need for further research into the possible developmental, behavioral, or other neurological effects of maternal smoking on breastfed babies.
Smoking and Breastfeeding Impact #6. Breastfeeding and smoking can lead to early weaning
In a 2020 study on maternal smoking and how smoking affects breastfeeding practices, it was found that pregnant women who smoked were less likely to initiate breastfeeding and that smoking mothers breastfed for shorter duration than demographically similar non smokers.
An earlier meta analysis examined the possible reasons why smoking might promote early weaning.
Some of these were:
- Lower breast milk output was reported among breastfeeding mothers who smoked (related to reduced prolactin levels, as a result of nicotine use)
- There were lower fat concentrations in the breast milk, which affected a baby’s weight gain, leading to early supplementation
- A smoking mother might be less health conscious overall and attend fewer antenatal and postnatal appointments.
Smoking cessation products
It is better to breastfeed and smoke cigarettes than to quit breastfeeding.
A better option is to quit smoking instead.
There are several smoking cessation medications to help make it easier to quit smoking .
Some of these are:
- Bupropion (Wellbutrin)- an anti depressant, primarily used to treat major depressive disorders and also used to support quitting smoking
- Varenicline (Champix)
- Nicotine replacement therapy, such as nicotine gum, patches, oral sprays, inhalers or tablets. Using these, however means your baby is still exposed to nicotine, through your breast milk.
There is no evidence to suggest that switching to lower nicotine cigarettes or electronic cigarettes helps to quit cigarette smoking altogether.
It is important to consult your healthcare provider before beginning any medication to stop smoking. Many medications have side effects, or might be contra-indicated for breastfeeding.
