Some might defend these actions by saying that they have the right to do whatever they wish to their body. This is unequivocally false. When a pregnant woman smokes, her actions do not only affect her health. Her baby is at risk also.
• A recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined that the number of women in Wyoming as a whole who smoke when pregnant is nearly double the national average. The rate in Wyoming is 20.7 percent. Free and True Wyoming
People have known for decades that smoking while pregnant is detrimental to the health of the mother and the baby. That this problem still exists is a function of poor education.
• When women smoke during pregnancy, their babies suffer the brunt of the consequences. State Health Officer, Brent Sherard, stated some of the risks include: low birth weights, miscarriages, childhood morbidity and long-term learning disabilities. According to a 2004 CDC report, neonatal costs for babies born to mothers who smoked in the state of Wyoming exceeded a quarter of a million dollars. Just in terms of dollars, smoking while pregnant is a horrible idea.
• Besides the direct health effects on children born to mothers who smoked while pregnant, the most dreadful consequence is that these children are learning habits from their parents. It is a personal choice to use tobacco products, but they are also predisposing their children to continue the cycle. Children whose parents smoke are twice as likely to pick up the habit Parenting Article (see footnote 4)
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The solution to the problem of Wyoming women smoking while pregnant is education. It may seem redundant, but the overwhelming thing these women have in common is a lack of education. Women in this state need to understand that their actions affect their health, but perhaps more important, their children’s health and opportunities.
3 comments:
I am compeletely blown away with the fact that women would smoke durring pregnancy. If they are choosing to bring a new life into the world, it is not their personal right to put this child in danger. People may argue though that smoking during pregnancy is their right just as people argue their rights to abortion, but its crazy that people choose to carry this child and yet they harm it.
Wow! That is crazy especially since I am from Johnson County. I am not sure really what to say about this as it is common sense knowledge of the problems that smoking during pregnancy can create. Are people from northern Wyoming ignorant? Well if so I consider myself an anomaly as I don’t smoke cigarettes regardless this is crazy news and it will be depressing to see the results of these peoples actions.
That's crazy. I never thought that Wyoming would be such a high percentage. I wonder if it has to do with the amount of pregnant women that may not be able to afford health care or who just don't attend screenings. That has to have something to do with it.
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