Smoking Causes Infant-Death

The worst fear a parent could face is losing a child.

Editorial Note: I believe it is in the best interest to bring forward this news story, albeit a very difficult one for me to address. I lost my first-born child in 2000 and delivered my youngest son at 24-weeks in 2008. I hope to convey the life-changing grief process amidst powerful statistics centered around this particular story - and the end of one life.

Every day children are born across the world. Those children are the dream of the future for parents and extended family alike. Protecting those children from anything that could harm them is what a parent does, without qualm. But what happens when a powerful addiction stands between your desire to protect your child and the clutch your addiction has upon you?

One New Zeland mom wrote on her Facebook wall May 11 that it was good to be home with her chubby-cheeked child who arrived prematurely. The coroner ruled that her son, known only as "Baby N", died due to sudden unexplainable infant death (SIDS) in June. However, he went on to state that exposure to tobacco smoke, sleeping in the same bed as his parents against medical advice, and his premature birth were likely contributing factors to his death.

Pediatrician Russel Wills said, "having smokers in the house greatly increased the risk of sudden infant death. Baby N's parents were strongly advised to give up smoking, but declined."

Secondhand smoke is just as toxic (some reports state more toxic) than first-hand smoke. The effect of that smoke on a healthy child's lungs are immense. Having also delivered one premature child, I know how those effects are amplified in lungs that will not reach full maturity for at least three, up to seven, years. During those years, depending on the damage caused to lung tissue by ventilators while in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, a child is far more susceptible to illnesses that can quickly take their lives. Caring for a preemie changes your world in ways that many people would not consider. You reduce exposure during the critical months, which depending on which region you reside, can mean as much as six months spent primarily indoors, away from people who are sick. You eliminate toxic cleaners from your home, learning natural ways to accomplish the same tasks without adding pollution that will irritate delicate lungs, and for smokers - you do all that you can to eliminate the clutch that cigarettes have on you; for the sake of your child.

Three years ago, when my husband and I brought home our son from his 115-day stay in the NICU after arriving 16 weeks prematurely, we did all that we could to reduce his exposure to cigarette smoke. We tried to quit and failed. We tried again and failed. In between failed attempts at quitting smoking, my husband and I layered to smoke. We wore our caps on our heads, coats, pants, and gloves -- even in summer. Those clothes were shuffled on outside and left outside to reduce the toxic chemicals brought into our home. We did everything possible to protect the little being that we fought so hard to have in our lives. Having lost a child prior, the lengths we embraced to ensure our youngest son's safety were large. But not near as large as the pain that encompasses every single holiday or birthday or anniversary you have without your own child.

Coping with grief every single day is one of the worst experiences a parent can experience. Learning that your own actions could have compromised the life of your own child, as with Baby N's parents, is even worse.

Speaking from the depths of my heart, I ask each and every smoker out there to quit. Eliminate the deadly smoke from the lives of delicate, little people's environment. Don't touch another tobacco cigarette. Don't do it for you. Don't do it for them.

Quit. Now.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), out of every 1,000 live births, 6.75 of those infants will die before their first birthday. The leading cause of death in those infants is congenital issues, health problems associated with premature birth and low birth weight, and SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome).

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