According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the use of e-cigarettes while breastfeeding is strongly discouraged. Vaping while breastfeeding can allow harmful chemicals to pass from mother to infant through breast milk. You can breastfeed if you are vaping.
What happens if you smoke weed while breastfeeding?
Your baby will be vulnerable to the chemicals and toxins. If your baby experiences lethargy and sleeps far more often, this could lead to slow weight gain and possibly hindered development because your baby will not be awake and eating often enough. When a mother breastfeeds and smokes weed, her baby can experience slower developmental growth.
What are the effects of smoking while breastfeeding?
Other effects associated with smoking and milk supply include:
- Babies of women who smoke are more likely to experience altered sleep patterns.
- Babies exposed to smoke via breast-feeding are more susceptible to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and the development of allergy-related diseases like asthma.
- Nicotine present in breast milk can lead to behavioral changes in a baby like crying more than usual.
Is it safe to smoke cigarettes while breastfeeding?
The lower levels of nicotine in your body can also help you to have a better let-down reflex. Do not smoke while you are holding or breastfeeding your child. Not only is it dangerous for the baby to inhale the second-hand smoke, but you may accidentally burn them with the hot ashes from your cigarette.
Is smoking weed while breastfeeding dangerous for Your Baby?
No, you can't smoke weed while you're breastfeeding. That's because when you smoke or eat marijuana, pot's main ingredient, tetrahydrocannabinol (or THC), circulates through your bloodstream and gets into your breast milk.
What effects can tobacco or e-cigarette exposure have on infants?
Regardless of feeding method (breastfeeding or infant formula), maternal smoking is a risk factor for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), as well as lower respiratory illnesses (such as bronchitis and pneumonia), ear infections, and impaired lung function in infants and children .
What to do after smoking and prior to handling an infant?
change clothes and wash hands after smoking and prior to handling the infant.
What is an e-cigarette?
E-cigarettes, and other vaping devices, are battery-powered devices that typically deliver nicotine, flavorings, and other additives through an inhaled aerosol. Little is known about the effects of e-cigarette use by the mother on the infant’s health.
Can you smoke e-cigarettes while breastfeeding?
Yes. Mothers who use tobacco or e-cigarettes should be encouraged to quit; regardless, breastfeeding provides numerous health benefits and breast milk remains the recommended food for an infant. recognize pregnancy and lactation as two ideal times to promote tobacco and smoking cessation.
Can you smoke while breastfeeding?
Using tobacco or e-cigarettes while breastfeeding can allow harmful chemicals to pass from the mother to the infant through breast milk or secondhand smoke exposure. Mothers who use tobacco or e-cigarettes should be encouraged to quit; regardless, breastfeeding provides numerous health benefits and breast milk remains the recommended food for an infant.
What is Vaping?
A vape or electronic cigarette is a device created to heat up liquid containing tobacco or marijuana to create a vapor that the user can inhale. Vaping has become one of the most popular methods of consuming both tobacco and marijuana products.
Types of Vaping Devices
Whether a vaping newbie or someone who has vaped for quite some time, you may not know the different types of vaping devices available. There are standard devices and then those for the technology savvy. Vaping devices come in four categories:
Is it Safe to Vape While Breastfeeding?
The CDC encourages breastfeeding mothers to quit vaping. Even if they are still vaping, they still consider it best to continue with breastfeeding. Breastfeeding provides numerous health benefits, and breast milk is still the recommended food for infants. As with smoking, it is highly recommended to avoid vaping around your infant.
Does Vaping Affect Breast Milk Supply?
Vaping does affect breast milk supply. The effects are due to the fact that nicotine easily crosses into breast milk from the mother. This nicotine is ingested via breastmilk and absorbed into the system of the infant. In some studies, the impact on infants who ingest the breast milk supply that has nicotine in it include:
Vaping Health Risks
Vaping is seen as a safer alternative to smoking cigarettes. It contains anywhere from one-third to half the nicotine found in a regular cigarette. Although there may be less nicotine, there are many other risks to vaping. The liquid itself and the vapor it produces contains harmful substances like:
Can I Vape With No Nicotine While Breastfeeding?
It is not recommended to vape nicotine-free e-cigarettes. The recommendation is because even some nicotine-free advertised e-cigarettes still contain nicotine. In a 2019 Australian study, six out of 10 nicotine-free e-liquids still had nicotine. There were also test samples that found 2-chlorophenol.
CBD Vape While Breastfeeding
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) strongly advises against using cannabidiol (CBD), tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and marijuana while breastfeeding. There are many negative health effects from using marijuana and other THC-containing products while breastfeeding.
What is an electronic cigarette?
Electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes (electronic nicotine delivery systems) are battery powered fake cigarettes consisting of a mouth piece, a cartridge with nicotine and other chemicals, and an atomiser that converts the liquid into a vapour. Some look like a traditional cigarette and some look more like a pen and are called vaporisers. In the UK e-cigarettes are regulated under the UK Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 which translates the European Union Tobacco Products Directive (2014/40/EU) into UK law. 9 In America different brands are not safety regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and contain various chemicals and flavourings with varying amounts of nicotine 10 11.
Can you use an e-cigarette while breastfeeding?
Can I use an e-cigarette if I’m breastfeeding?#N#Based on the available evidence on e-cigarette safety there is no reason to believe that using an e-cigarette would compromise breastfeeding. If vaping is helping you to quit smoking and stay smokefree, you should carry on with it, including while breastfeeding.
Does nicotine gum affect breastfeeding?
Blood levels of nicotine from nicotine gum can vary quite widely and may be similar to smoking traditional cigarettes however there aren’t any studies on breastfeeding mothers using this product ( Lactmed, 2018). Hale says levels of blood nicotine from chewing gum may be 30-60% of the levels of blood nicotine found in cigarette smokers. Hale also states however that if the gum is chewed rapidly the levels of nicotine may be similar to smoking itself. Breastfeeding mothers are advised to avoid breastfeeding for two to three hours after chewing this product (Halesmeds.com. 2018)
Does lactmed affect breast milk?
However, Lactmed 3 cautions that nicotine crosses into breast milk readily; and based on animal studies it may increase a baby’s risk of SIDS and may interfere with normal lung development. Lactmed says no studies have been undertaken to resolve concerns around using nicotine products for breastfeeding mothers.
Is nicotine replacement therapy safe for breastfeeding?
Nicotine replacement therapy and breastfeeding. Although there has not been much research on NRT it is thought that the small amount of nicotine excreted into breast milk from nicotine therapy products is less dangerous for the baby than smoke inhalation from smoking traditional tobacco products.
Does smoking cigarettes cause cancer?
Nicotine Therapy, Vaping and Breastfeeding. Cigarette smoke increases a baby’s risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), respiratory infections, pneumonia, asthma, bronchitis, and lung cancer. While babies exposed to nicotine—one of the highly addictive substances found in tobacco smoke—can be fussier, have more colic, disturbed sleep, nausea, ...
Can you use nicotine replacement therapy on a baby?
Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) by patch, gum, spray or inhaler will at least avoid some of the harmful effects of passive smoking for mother and baby. However nicotine does still pass into the breast milk of a mother using these products.
When is the CDC urging people to stop vaping?
Stop Vaping Now! The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a health advisory on August 30, 2019 urging people to avoid e-cigarettes and other vaping devices. An outbreak of severe lung disease related to vaping has caused severe illness and death in many US states. The American Academy of Pediatrics joins ...
How to keep a baby from smoking?
Make your house and car smoke-free to keep your baby away from secondhand smoke. After vaping, change your clothes, and wash your hands before holding your baby. Nurse your baby before, rather than after, vaping. Your body will have more time to clear the nicotine from breast milk. Don't give up trying to quit.
Are e-cigarettes safe to use while pregnant?
No, e-cigs are NOT safe to use while pregnant. Tobacco companies advertise e-cigs as safe alternatives to traditional cigarettes, since they don't release the same chemicals as burning tobacco smoke. However, e-cig vapor or aerosol still contains many other harmful substances. Also, due to the lack of regulation, the chemical compounds in e-cigarettes can vary between brands.
What are the effects of nicotine on a developing fetus and newborn baby?
Research on the effects of vaping on fetuses and newborns has lagged behind the quick rise in e-cigarette use.
Does nicotine from e-cigarettes get into breastmilk?
Yes. Inhal ed nicotine enters a mother's blood through her lungs, and then easily passes into breastmilk. Research shows that nicotine in a mother's breastmilk can affect infant sleep patterns―raising the risk for blood sugar and thyroid problems that can lead children to become overweight. Nicotine is also thought to decrease milk supply in nursing mothers, possibly by lowering levels of the breastmilk-stimulating hormone prolactin.
What is the chemical in e-cigarette vapor?
flavoring like diacetyl, a chemical linked to a serious, irreversible lung disease called obliterative bronchiolitis.
Is smoking a cigarette during pregnancy bad for you?
It is proven and well known that smoking cigarettes during pregnancy is dangerous to the mother and baby's health. But, do you also know e-cigarette use during pregnancy and breastfeeding is risky? E-cigarettes―also known as e-hookah, e-pens, vape pens, or tanks―are NOT a safe way to quit smoking during pregnancy either.
What is the liquid in an e-cigarette?
E-cigarettes usually contain a liquid mixture of flavourings, nicotine, water, propylene glycol and glycerine. Propylene glycol is used in foods to keep them moist and as a carrier for medicine in inhalers. Glycerine is a slightly sweet, moistening food additive.
How does an e-cigarette work?
As you draw on the e-cigarette, the liquid is drawn into a chamber. This heats the liquid and turns it into a vapour, which you breathe in. A hit of nicotine goes straight into your lungs, and is quickly absorbed into your bloodstream.
Why is breastmilk important for babies?
Your breastmilk protects your baby against infections and has the perfect balance of nutrients to help her thrive. It's also a lovely way for the two of you to bond.
Can e-cigarettes pass into breastmilk?
We already know that nicotine and other toxins from tobacco smoke pass into breastmilk. So the same could happen if you use an e-cigarette.
Is it safe to smoke e-cigarettes while breastfeeding?
It's safer to use e-cigarettes than smoke conventional cigarettes while breastfeeding. E-cigarette vapour has many fewer toxins, and at much lower levels, than tobacco.
Can you get advice from the NHS Smokefree?
You can get extra support and advice from the NHS Smokefree service.
Does nicotine affect breastmilk?
Nicotine makes blood vessels become narrower in adult smokers. In theory, nicotine in breastmilk could have the same effect on babies as it does in adults. However, the amount of nicotine that passes to your baby through breastmilk would be a lot less than the nicotine you take into your body when you vape.
How many people quit smoking with an e-cigarette?
E-cigarette users were more likely to quit smoking (18 percent) than those who used the patch or other nicotine replacement options (10 percent). While that sounds good at first, it means that more than 80 percent of the vaping group kept smoking.
What are the different types of e-cigarettes?
E-cigs also go by a lot of different names: 1 Vapes 2 Vape pens 3 Cig-alikes 4 E-hookahs 5 Hookah pens 6 Mods 7 Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS)
Is vaping safer than smoking?
These may include nicotine (the stimulant in tobacco), natural or artificial flavors and scents, and vapor-producing chemicals like polyethylene glycol (the stuff in antifreeze). Some have few er risk y chemicals than others, but it's hard to make a safe choice. Here's why:
Can e-cigs help me quit smoking?
That's not likely. You may have heard that some people use e-cigs to help them quit smoking, but it's just not that simple.
Does vaping affect fertility?
There aren't any good human studies on vaping and fertility. Experts suspect that vaping may be less harmful than cigarette smoke, but isn't entirely safe. No matter how it's delivered, nicotine can affect fertility. To be on the safe side, you and your partner might want to quit altogether while you're trying to conceive.
Can pregnant women vape?
The Centers for Disease Control has also issued a warning that pregnant women should not vape. There are no studies on vaping during pregnancy, but we do know that any form of nicotine can affect a developing baby's brain and lungs.
Can e-cigarettes harm breastfeeding infants?
We don't know much about the effects of e-cigs on breastfeeding infants, but we do know that any secondhand smoke can be harmful to children.
Roflobster New Member
Hello everyone, my fiance is due with our first child in December, and during this time she had quit smoking cigarettes. I quit along with her and switched to vaping, which I really enjoy now. For the first few months of he pregnancy she was vaping some 0 nic juice, but without the nicotine it wasn't really satisfying her.
swedishfish Vaping Master Verified Member ECF Veteran
Use of nicotine patches in breast-feedin... [Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2003] - PubMed - NCBI
swedishfish Vaping Master Verified Member ECF Veteran
CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the absolute infant dose of nicotine and its metabolite cotinine decreases by about 70% from when subjects were smoking or using the 21-mg patch to when they were using the 7-mg patch. In addition, use of the nicotine patch had no significant influence on the milk intake by the breast-fed infant.
swedishfish Vaping Master Verified Member ECF Veteran
C.B. I have yet to talk to one doctor that is opposed to vaping. Every single doctor I've spoken to about it (and it's been a lot) have all had positive things to say regarding vaping over smoking. Most even say they recommend it to their patients. And I'm not alone, many people on the board say this.
Roflobster New Member
Thank you everyone for the replies. That article was very informative. I agree that asking her doctor would be a good thing to do, and I will be sure to bring that up at her next appointment.