Smoking and Breast FeedingMany women do not believe that smoking while they are breast feeding has any effect what so ever on their baby. However, smoking can have a diverse effect on some of the supplements that your baby needs in that the amount of these items are reduced are of course if you are smoking at the same time that you are holding your baby, the baby will be inhaling second hand smoke. Smoking lowers milk production, this means that you may not have enough milk to satisfy your little one, thus you will have to supplement with a baby formula. Smoking mothers have lower levels of prolactin. Prolactin is the hormone that is needed for the milk synthesis to occur. One study dealing with smoking and breast feeding showed that the heavy smokers weaned their babies early. A study conducted in Laurberg in 2004, noted that mothers that lived in areas that had mild to moderate iodine levels had less iodine in the breast milk. Mothers in the same area that did not smoke had higher levels of iodine. Your baby needs iodine to help with thyroid function. It also suggested that mother's that smoke while breast feeding should take an iodine supplement to ensure that their baby is receiving enough iodine. Not only does smoking while breast feeding show the above problems, but many moms have problems with the milk being let down for the baby to drink. This could be one reason that smoking mothers quit breast feeding early than non-smoking moms. They tend not to produce enough milk; therefore, they have let-down problems, mainly because there is just not enough milk being produced. Read more of our articles on breast feeding Breast Feeding Problems |