jcp@osiris.UUCP (Jody Patilla) (05/24/85)
The Washington Post Health section ran an essay this week by a pediatrician who stressed the considerable damage that parents who smoke do to their children (who have no choice in the matter). Babies born to mothers who smoked during pregnancy have lower birth weights and higher incidence of birth defects, particularly cleft palate. Children whose live in a house with one or more smoking adults (and who are thus exposed to alot of "second-hand" smoke) gain weight more slowly, and have a much higher incidence of asthma, allergies and other respiratory problems. They get more colds and take longer to recover. So, even if you don't give a damn about the general public and feel you have the right to be as publicly obnoxious as you want, please - if you love your children, stop smoking NOW. -- jcpatilla "'Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill !'"
trisha@oddjob.UUCP (Trisha O Tuama) (05/27/85)
Smoking has also been shown to be a significant factor in causing sudden infant death syndrome. I knew a smoker who when she unintentionally got pregnant, kept right on smoking feeling that since she hadn't planned on having a child, it wasn't her responsibility to provide adequate prenatal care. Trisha