Women Pregnancy

Arkansas is about a month away from enforcing a statewide smoking ban, and now some lawmakers want to ban pregnant women from lighting up altogether. Gov. Mike Huckabee said a smoking ban for pregnant mothers makes sense from a health standpoint. He said that he hasn’t determined if such a law would be legal, but even discussing such a proposition has stirred up controversy.

UAMS doctors say in Arkansas 23 percent of women smoke while pregnant. According to a campaign called Tobacco Free Kids, they say tobacco is responsible for up to 141,000 spontaneous abortions each year in this country.
“I proposed a study, to study the constitutionality of it. I don’t know if it will be constitutional or not, but one thing is to bring awareness to people,” says Rep. Bob Mathis.

Studies have shown that as many as one in five women smoke during pregnancy, and up to 10 percent of all infant deaths are attributed to a smoking mother.
As for banning smoking, some mothers said that while there might be the risk of health complications for the baby, how to raise their child is up to them. “The United States is supposed to be freedom of choice. That’s our choice. If I want to smoke when I’m pregnant, that should be my choice,” said Tammie Griffin.

Recently the performer Thalia became a spokeswoman for the March of Dimes` campaign to ensure a healthy pregnancy for all women and good health for their infants. The campaign involves getting women prenatal care and providing them with information. Women are advised to not smoke during pregnancy because smoking is associated with higher infant mortality rates, premature babies and low birth weights. Women also are advised to avoid alcohol and drugs, and to take a multivitamin with folic acid when they are trying to get pregnant and during pregnancy to reduce the risk of birth defects.