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  • May 2024 World No Tobacco Day Newsletter: Protecting Babies From Tobacco

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World No Tobacco Day:
Protecting Babies From Tobacco

World No Tobacco Day is May 31, making May a great time to increase awareness about the negative effects of tobacco use, including the potentially devastating effects of maternal smoking and secondhand smoke exposure for infants and young children.

Because of their developing lungs, infants and young children are especially vulnerable to the effects of tobacco use by those around them. When a woman smokes during pregnancy, her developing fetus is exposed to the more than 7,000 chemicals and at least 70 known carcinogens in tobacco smoke. The consequences can be devastating for a developing fetus and baby, including preterm birth, lung damage, heart defects, increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), learning difficulties, and more.

Childbirth Graphics has engaging pregnancy hazards education resources to teach expectant parents about the dangers of maternal smoking and secondhand smoke exposure during pregnancy as well as secondhand smoke exposure for infants and young children. Read on to discover just a few of our essential tobacco education teaching tools that alert expectant parents to tobacco and other pregnancy hazards.





Models That Make an Impact



Coming with English/Spanish presentation notes, our What Mommy Does, Baby Does™ Model graphically illustrates how the toxins in tobacco and other harmful substances (such as alcohol and other drugs) can cross the placenta and damage a developing fetus. The model features a see-through placenta with cigarette butts, beer bottle caps, and pills suspended in hard plastic that is attached to a fetus by the umbilical cord. The model powerfully reinforces that everything that goes into the mother’s body can affect a baby’s health, which is why tobacco use should be avoided. Tobacco smoke causes anatomical changes to the placenta, which affects its ability to provide a fetus with the nutrients and oxygen needed for optimal development.
An eye-opening demonstration model, our Smokey Sue Smokes for Two™ is a great way to show a group how maternal cigarette smoking can harm a developing baby. Facilitators can place a lit cigarette into Sue’s mouth, and when her bulb is pumped she “smokes” the cigarette, causing tar collect to collect around the lifelike model of Sue’s fetus representing 7 months of gestational age. The demonstration is a graphic way to show how the toxins in tobacco can reach a fetus in the womb. Because the model requires real cigarettes (not included), the demonstration should be performed in well-ventilated areas. For a smoke-free demonstration of how tobacco and other substances can reach a developing fetus, check out our What Mommy Does, Baby Does™ Display.



Smoking and Your Baby



With three informational panels, our Smoking and Your Baby Folding Display is a great way to alert expectant mothers to the ways smoking can damage their baby’s health during pregnancy and after birth as well as their own health. It covers potential risks during pregnancy (including placental problems) to the enhanced risks of miscarriage, stillbirth, low birthweight, lung and brain damage, SIDS, and more. The display also emphasizes that e-cigarettes should be avoided.
For take-home reinforcement of information, hand out our Smoking and Your Baby Pamphlet. The eight-panel pamphlet covers the negative effects of smoking during pregnancy and the hazards of secondhand smoke exposure for a baby after birth and during childhood. It also discusses how smoking affects fertility, how to stop smoking, and why e-cigarettes should also be avoided just like cigarettes. With easy-to-read content and straightforward text, the pamphlet gives a clear no-tobacco message.



More Tobacco Education Teaching Tools

Childbirth Graphics strives to provide childbirth educators with the best teaching tools available to nurture healthy babies and grow healthy families. Find great teaching resources to help expectant mothers avoid tobacco products and other potential dangers during pregnancy in our website’s section dedicated to pregnancy hazards education models and materials.

The information contained in this article is not intended to replace the advice of a healthcare professional.


©2024 Childbirth Graphics®