Nicotine will still be in your breastmilk for at least three hours after you smoke. Smoking can also inhibit your milk production and might reduce the level of vitamin C that your baby is getting through your breastmilk.
Nicotine poses many health risks to babies, including:
Increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS or "crib death")
Increased incidence of respiratory allergies
Poor growth
Infants exposed to nicotine are often colicky and irritable. They also have a higher risk of respiratory and gastrointestinal illnesses that require hospital treatment.
If you continue to smoke when you are breastfeeding, wait to have a cigarette until after you have completed a feeding.
You might be advised to wait at least three to four hours before breastfeeding again–even if it means that you have to pump and dump (where you express and discard some breastmilk). breastfeeding, wait to have a cigarette until after you have completed a feeding.
You might be advised to wait at least three to four hours before breastfeeding again–even if it means that you have to pump and dump (where you express and discard some breastmilk).