Maternal smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke endanger the health
of the mother and the baby. Each year, about 400,000 infants born in the
United States are exposed to the chemicals in cigarette smoke before birth
because their mothers smoke. Since the first Surgeon General’s Report on
smoking and health was released in 1964, 100,000 babies have died from
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), prematurity, low birth weight, or
other complications caused by exposure to the dangerous chemicals in
tobacco smoke. The following are ways smoking affects fertility and the
health of a pregnancy