Sheri Lynn asked:




If you feel that you cannot give up smoking while breastfeeding, it still benefits your baby if you choose to breastfeed. Breastfeeding provides many immunities that help help your little one to fight illness and can even help counteract some of the effects of cigarette smoking.

There are also some ways that you can minimize the risks to your baby.

1. Smoke fewer than 20 Cigarettes a day Most studies show that as long as you smoke fewer than 20 cigarettes daily, you can keep the risks minimal. However, if you start smoking more than that and the risks start going up.

2. Never smoke while you are breastfeeding – You should never smoke while you are actually nursing your baby. This results in him or her breathing in the smoke, which is very harmful, and also elevates the nicotine levels in your blood, which can be transferred through your milk.

3. Avoid nursing right after smoking – It takes at least 1.5 hours to get half of that nicotine out of your blood stream. In addition, smoking before you nurse can cause problems with your letdown as well.

4. Never ever smoke around your baby (or anyone else’s baby!) If you are going to smoke, make sure that you never do it around kids. Go in another room, or better yet, go outdoors so little ones are not exposed to the dangers of secondhand smoke.

But if you want to try to quit, are smoking cessation aids that replace nicotine safe while breastfeeding? The answer is that they are actually safer than smoking. When used as directed, these products pose no more problems for the breastfeeding infant than maternal smoking does and without the dangers of second-hand smoke.

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