The Shenandoah Valley Family Practice Residency is committed to helping its resident physicians care for patients at all stages of life. To ensure that residents receive a thorough grounding in their specialty, the Shenandoah Valley Family Practice Residency offers training in obstetrics.

1. DANGERS OF TOBACCO USE DURING
PREGNANCY
Shenandoah Valley Family Practice Residency

2. INTRODUCTION
 The Shenandoah Valley Family Practice Residency is committed
to helping its resident physicians care for patients at all stages of
life. To ensure that residents receive a thorough grounding in
their specialty, the Shenandoah Valley Family Practice Residency
offers training in obstetrics.
When caring for a woman who is pregnant, one of the physician's
most important tasks is to help her make healthy choices for her
baby. Smoking cessation education is crucial for the obstetrician
because tobacco use during pregnancy can cause serous harm
to both mother and baby.
If a mother smokes, her child is more likely to develop a cleft lip,
cleft palate, or other similar birth defects. The child is more likely
to be born before 37 weeks of gestation or to present with low
birth weight, defined as weighing less than 5 pounds 8 ounces.
Both of these events increase a child's risk of neonatal health
problems and a longer hospital stay.

3. TOBACCO
 Miscarriage and stillbirth are both more common in
women who smoke during pregnancy, as is premature
birth. Even after birth, a baby born to a smoking mother
has an increased risk of succumbing to sudden infant
death syndrome (SIDS), the unexpected death of an
infant under the age of one year.
In addition, mothers who continue to smoke after birth
expose their babies to secondhand smoke, which is
linked to an increased likelihood of developing asthma,
lung infections, and other breathing problems. Even
thirdhand smoke, which collects on clothes, carpet, and
hair in a home where there are smokers, can damage a
baby's developing respiratory system.