The number of cot deaths is much higher in lower socio economic groups

Smoking is not only dangerous  to the health of an unborn child but can also greatly increase the chances of that child dying after it is born. New evidence regarding cot deaths shows that around 90% of mothers who have lost a child because of cot death were smokers when they were pregnant. The researchers also saw that women who were smokers when pregnant had a four times greater chance of having a child dying of a cot death when compared to non smoking women.

The researchers said that it was essential that parents were given stronger warnings and firm advice about the possible dangers of smoking and that the statistics about the higher likelihood of a cot death were spelled out to them extremely clearly. These days the dangers of cigarettes when pregnant have been heavily promoted to the point where the majority of pregnant women do not smoke, nevertheless the real figures show that twenty percent of women in the United Kingdom still smoke when they are pregnant and that other countries around the world have even higher figures.

Smoking when pregnant not only increases the chances of a cot death happening after the birth but also means that the woman is more probable to suffer from a premature birth or a stillbirth. The number of cot deaths is much higher in lower socio economic groups and the researchers said that these groups were the ones that needed to be targeted for education and smoking cessation help.

If you are thinking of getting pregnant or are already pregnant you should quit smoking immediately. You now have a much bigger incentives to quit because you are not just looking after your own health, but you are responsible for the future health of your children. You can no longer argue that it is your personal choice and freedom to smoke because the implications of you smoking will now affect someone else and could affect them extremely seriously.