The Impact of Smoking and Drinking During Pregnancy - Essay Example

"The Impact of Smoking and Drinking During Pregnancy" is a great example of a paper on pregnancy. Pregnant women within the United States are often made aware of the fact that they need to abstain from cigarettes and alcohol for the sake of their developing baby’s health. However, what is not often explained are the specific reasons why alcohol and cigarettes should not be consumed in terms of how they will negatively impact the baby. According to the Time Magazine article entitled “Health: What Alcohol Does to a Child,” “just one drink a day during the first three months of pregnancy is associated with a 2-point drop in overall IQ by the time the child is 10”(Gorman). A pregnant woman who drinks large quantities of alcohol during pregnancy can cause their child to be born with fetal alcohol syndrome. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, fetal alcohol syndrome causes the baby “to be born small, have problems eating and sleeping, and have problems with seeing and hearing”(“Drinking and Your Pregnancy”). Also, the baby will have problems with learning and paying attention(“Drinking and Your Pregnancy”).

            Pregnant women also need to abstain from cigarette smoking. According to the Time Magazine article entitled “A New Study Details the Effects of Smoking in Pregnancy,” a new study was conducted which “revealed a strong link between smoking and oral-facial abnormalities”(Rochman). Also, the study indicated that women who smoke during pregnancy tend to have babies who develop congenital heart disease, which can cause a lifetime of health problems for that child once it is born(Rochman). Lastly, the author, Bonnie Rochman, states that “cigarette chemicals including nicotine, carbon monoxide, and tar can lead to limb deformities, clubfoot, and gastrointestinal and optical disorders”(Rochman). An increase in the potential for a stillbirth is also attributed to smoking cigarettes while pregnant(Rochman).

            The potential risks and complications that accompany a woman’s choice to smoke and drink while pregnant should be made known to any and all women with the desire to become pregnant. With so many studies completed on this subject and continuing to be completed on this subject, it appears that the information included in such studies should be deemed to be quite accurate. Any woman who drinks and smokes during pregnancy while being fully aware of the potential consequences is neglecting their child and risking this child’s entire future before it has even been given the chance to live.