Hello, dear hookah lady! Today we will talk about whether it is possible to smoke a hookah while breastfeeding. The topic is quite clear, but it is still worth clarifying some points. Without further ado, let's move on to what's in the article:
- Why is hookah dangerous for breastfeeding?
- Is it possible to use hookah while breastfeeding?
- What effect does hookah have on mother and baby during breastfeeding?
- How to reduce the impact of hookah smoking during breastfeeding
Surprisingly, I have heard many times about cases where a young mother allows herself to smoke a hookah while breastfeeding. Despite the fact that we all love to smoke pot in a pleasant company, this is prohibited for nursing mothers . There are compelling arguments for this that simply cannot be ignored. Let me tell you about them.
Hookah is, of course, less harmful than cigarettes. I wrote about this here. But it’s still worth being safe.
Let's figure out why you can't smoke a hookah during breastfeeding
Why is hookah dangerous when breastfeeding?
So, a fact already proven by many scientists: Hookah, like other tobacco products, directly affects the milk of a young mother. That is, during the lactation period, carcinogens (harmful substances) from hookah enter not only the mother’s body, but also into the child’s body through milk.
Here you need to understand that an adult’s body is more resistant to toxins than a baby’s body. It turns out that if you smoke pot, you will get almost nothing, and the child may develop diseases and pathologies. And this is already scary. The child's reactions may be as follows:
- He may simply refuse milk because of the bitterness. Yes, yes, when you smoke a hookah, the milk becomes bitter.
- Baby may stop sleeping and scream more often due to unknown negative processes in the body. Including colic due to slowing of the gastrointestinal tract.
- He may become less active and appear lethargic.
- Due to the lack of supply of necessary minerals and vitamins through milk, asthma, allergies, and lung diseases (upper and lower respiratory tract) may develop.
- There may be cases of slower weight gain and growth. Again, this can happen due to a decrease in the quality of the nursing mother's milk.
- The pathology of mental retardation and mental instability may appear.
In addition, you must understand that if you smoke, your lactation will decrease. In principle, the milk may disappear altogether and the little one will have to be switched to artificial nutrition. This happens because when you smoke, your prolactin levels (the breastfeeding hormone) decrease.
As a result, when a mother smokes a hookah while breastfeeding, the quantity and quality of milk deteriorates. Think about whether you need to risk your expensive baby for such evening fun.
Hookah is dangerous when breastfeeding
How does hookah affect a nursing mother's milk?
Let's take a closer look at the effect smoking has on milk. Immediately forget about all the myths that a hookah has less influence on a nursing baby than cigarettes, etc. This is all untrue.
As I said above, there are two main consequences:
- Termination of lactation (milk production) . This threatens that your milk will disappear and you will not be able to feed your baby. Recent studies have shown that mother's milk is much healthier than formula and milk. Therefore, by denying your baby natural nutrition, you can slow down his development.
- Decrease in the quality of milk of a nursing mother. Remember that when smoking a hookah, you receive a certain dose of toxins and carcinogens. They remain in your body for a certain time, replacing and destroying beneficial vitamins and minerals. That is, you will feed the child not with useful substances that promote growth and development, but with toxins that harm the baby’s body.
Milk is the baby's only access to nutrients and vitamins, so it is better to postpone smoking
How does hookah affect the mother during breastfeeding?
Hookah also negatively affects adults, including you, mom. Therefore, pay primary attention to your health. Due to the fact that you smoke hookah while breastfeeding, you may develop the following complications:
- The general background of the respiratory system will worsen.
- The gastrointestinal tract will slow down.
- Blood pressure may rise and the entire cardiovascular system will be overloaded.
- And of course, the nervous system of young mothers is slightly weakened during the feeding period, so smoking a hookah can only worsen the situation.
In short, when smoking a hookah while breastfeeding, intoxication (poisoning) of the mother’s body occurs. This directly affects the baby’s health. I'll explain how later.
You can look at this article. There I described how hookah is harmful for an adult.
A new mother should worry about both herself and her child.
How to wean a nursing mother from smoking
First of all, it is necessary to call a woman to reason and operate with facts. It is unlikely that an adult is aware of the dangers of smoking. A mother who does not love her health needs to realize that she is causing harm not only to herself. The consequences that may arise with the health of a child who is breastfed by a smoker cannot in any way be commensurate with the pleasure received from smoking a cigarette. Imagine putting a cigarette in your child’s mouth and asking him to take a drag. Not a normal situation, isn't it? You are doing practically the same thing when you feed a defenseless baby carcinogenic milk. This must be realized.
Smoking is just a habit. Correct prioritization should help cope with the psychological factor and overcome addiction.
If the instructions of relatives and self-hypnosis do not help, then a nursing woman should consult a doctor. A specialist can recommend medications to help you quit nicotine addiction. They cause less harm to health compared to smoking. Although, for example, the manufacturer of the well-known drug Tabex does not recommend using it during the lactation period.
In addition to tablets, there are nicotine gums and patches, which are also not recommended during breastfeeding. However, your doctor may recommend this method of quitting smoking. In this case, you should follow some recommendations:
- Since both the chewing gum and the patch contain nicotine, you should not smoke cigarettes while using these products;
- It is recommended to use nicotine substitutes immediately after the next breastfeeding. The doctor may prescribe a course of treatment with non-recommended smoking cessation medications.
A special patch or chewing gum will help you quit smoking.
A psychologist can also help. He will try to solve the problem using a technique aimed at understanding the cause of the craving for smoking. Often this really helps in the fight against bad habits.
There is another means of combating smoking, and it is absolutely not harmful and not expensive. We are talking about baking soda, a solution of which you need to rinse your mouth every time you have the urge to smoke. To obtain a rinse liquid, a glass of water and a spoon of soda are enough. Of course, this method is not proven and is not medical. However, it is absolutely safe, so it’s worth a try.
Hookah during breastfeeding affects the baby
It is a well-known fact that until a certain age, a baby receives nutrients only from mother’s milk. Therefore, if a mother does not watch her diet and smokes hookah, this can lead to general poisoning of the baby’s body. This will later affect the entire development and health system of the child.
By the way, don’t forget to look at the article about how hookah affects pregnant women. She's right here!
Mentioned just above were all the pathologies and negative reactions that a child may experience (allergies, developmental delays, poor digestion, decreased activity, etc.).
Of course, these reactions can occur with regular and periodic hookah smoking and feeding with intoxicated (poisoned) milk. This is all very dangerous, so it’s better not to take risks. However, if you have already smoked hookah, there are several ways to minimize the damage. Let's look at ways to reduce risks.
Your baby will suffer from smoking while breastfeeding
Smoking a hookah while breastfeeding – Reducing the risks
If you can't resist smoking a hookah while breastfeeding with friends, then follow these precautions. By the way, it will not be possible to completely eliminate the risks, since hookah still affects your lactation and the quality of your milk. These methods will only help reduce risks, and not completely eliminate them:
- Try to smoke hookah no more than once a week. This will allow you to reduce the amount of carcinogens entering your body and the health of your baby. At the same time, you will have to drink more water or milk to quickly remove all toxins from your body.
- Smoking a hookah during breastfeeding should be limited to 20-30 minutes. This must be done either before the coals are completely lit, or after. The smoke should be thin and small so as not to poison the body of the new mother and child.
- Do not smoke hookah from 21:00 to 8:00. During this time period, the body produces the most active lactation. That is, it is during this period that the quality of a nursing mother’s milk can be spoiled as much as possible. It will be better if you feed your baby fresh nutritious milk and only then go to smoke a hookah.
- If you do smoke a hookah, then do not feed your baby your milk for 3 days. It is within three days that all toxins from hookah are removed from the body. At this time, you can feed the baby with formula - it will be healthier. But don't abuse this advice!
If you suddenly feel sick from hookah, then read this article. There I told you what to do in such cases.
Smoking while breastfeeding is still prohibited
How to minimize the harmful effects?
If the mother, despite all the factors, cannot satisfy her addiction to this type of smoking, she should at least follow all the recommendations of specialists who will help minimize the harm of such tobacco smoke.
First of all, a woman must stop smoking between 9 pm and 9 am, since it is at night that the most intense period of lactation occurs. In order for the baby to receive as little harmful substances as possible, you should refrain from smoking hookah at least 2 hours before feeding. During this time, at least some of the substances hazardous to the health of the newborn may disappear from the milk. It is best, of course, to inhale tobacco smoke immediately after feeding.
It is very important to minimize hookah smoking as much as possible. The number of such sessions should be reduced to a minimum. At best, you should smoke no more than once a week. In addition, doctors advise drinking as much fluid as possible, this helps eliminate harmful substances in breast milk.
And most importantly, the smoking session should last no longer than half an hour. It is best to smoke at the very beginning, when the coals are still new and practically unlit. This type of smoking causes the least amount of harm. It is also recommended to use small pieces of charcoal and change them frequently during smoking.
You can go to great lengths for the sake of a child. Giving up the bad habit of hookah smoking is no exception. Try to forget about all your desires while breastfeeding your baby and take care of his future health. Thanks to this, your child will grow up healthy and happy.
Is it possible to smoke hookah while breastfeeding - Bottom line
Smoking a hookah while breastfeeding is prohibited! Even I, as a fan and lover of the entire hookah culture, would not advise any mother to risk the health of her baby for the sake of smoking a hookah. Think about your future and the future of your baby! Let's go over the main findings:
- Is it possible to smoke hookah while breastfeeding? - No you can not.
- How does hookah affect mom's health? – When smoking, toxins enter the mother’s body, later into the milk, and then into the baby’s body. The quality and quantity of milk produced decreases.
- How does spoiled milk affect the baby’s body? – The baby may develop dangerous diseases and pathologies. It is very dangerous.
- Is it possible to reduce the risks of smoking hookah during breastfeeding? – It’s possible, but the risks will still remain. It is better to completely stop smoking potassium during breastfeeding.
I hope that the article was useful to you. Take care of the health of your family - this is the most important thing in life. Put 5 stars just below, click on the bell in the lower left part. Health and patience to you and your baby, mommy!
Nina Zaichenko - all about breastfeeding - author of the Youtube channel
How does breast milk from a smoking mother affect the condition and health of the child?
As already mentioned, smoking a hookah is no less dangerous than ordinary cigarettes.
The tobacco used to fuel this device is even more harmful, both for the health of the mother and for the well-being of the child who drinks breast milk when breastfeeding from a mother who is smoking. First of all, toxins entering the baby’s body through breast milk negatively affect his nervous system. The baby begins to sleep poorly, often gets tired and cries excessively. Problems with appetite often occur. He stubbornly refuses to take his mother's breast, so he has to switch to store-bought cereals, which are not as healthy as breast milk from a healthy mother.
Often, children of mothers who smoke hookah suffer from serious diseases of the respiratory system. This could be asthma, various allergic diseases, as well as lung cancer. With each smoking session, the risk of infecting your child with a similar disease only increases several times. Colic in babies of smoking mothers is more painful, so the newborn often cries.
Well, the main thing that a young mother should remember is that the process of such smoking can be called a kind of use of a certain drug. On a subconscious level, the baby also becomes dependent on him and in adolescence can repeat the mistakes of his mother.
