Medically reviewed by Dr Claudia Pastorelli Mosca.
While it's something that can be a difficult habit to give up, smoking cigarettes during pregnancy can restrict the essential oxygen supply to your baby and means that their heart must beat harder every time you smoke. If you're wondering if you can vape while pregnant instead or have been vaping for a while and are unsure if it's safe to continue during pregnancy, Dr. Claudia Pastorelli Mosca, Gynecologist and Obstetrician, Medical Advisor at Flo Health is here to explain more.
Can you vape while pregnant?
Using e-cigarettes while pregnant might be harmful to both the mother and the baby. There is some evidence showing that it could lead to problems like systemic inflammation, the baby being born too small or too early, and having a low birth weight.
As vaping is a relatively new habit people started doing in the 2000s, we still don't know everything about how e-cigarettes affect pregnancy, and more research is needed to understand all the risks fully, and according to ACOG, women should immediately stop vaping once they learn they are pregnant.
Is vaping bad for pregnancy?
As above, vaping can be bad for pregnancy, as there is evidence leading to systemic inflammation, low birth weight, and premature birth. There is limited evidence in determining all the risks and the full picture when talking about e-cigarettes and pregnancy.
We have a lot of evidence on how nicotine can be harmful to pregnancy, such as causing reduced blood flow to the placenta and reducing delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the baby, which can cause many complications such as the ones mentioned above.
Even if vaping is done without nicotine, there is also evidence that vaping aerosols can contain toxic compounds, which we still don't know the full extent of how it can affect pregnancy. So yes, vaping can potentially be bad for pregnancy.
Can vaping cause miscarriage?
The link between vaping and miscarriage is not entirely clear, and research on this topic is still ongoing. However, most e-cigarettes contain nicotine, which has been associated with a higher risk of miscarriages.
Should I be worried about secondhand vape during pregnancy?
The vapour produced by an e-cigarette contains certain chemicals that are also present in cigarette smoke. However, in significantly lower concentrations, it is probably safer than secondhand secondhand smoking traditional cigarettes. However, the potential harm from this exposure is not yet fully understood.
Can you vape while breastfeeding?
Consuming tobacco or e-cigarettes during breastfeeding can result in the transmission of harmful chemicals from the mother to the infant through breast milk or exposure to secondhand smoke.
Maternal smoking poses several risks for the child, such as infections and lung conditions. Mothers who use tobacco or e-cigarettes should be motivated to quit, and smoking while breastfeeding should be avoided.
Avoiding exposing the child to secondhand smoke is also important, by always smoking outside of the house and car, far from your child and washing your hands after smoking.
Nevertheless, it's important to note that breastfeeding offers numerous health benefits, and breast milk continues to be the recommended method of feeding for infants, even if quitting is not possible.
About the expert
Dr. Claudia P. Mosca is a board-certified obstetrician and gynaecologist and medical advisor for Flo Health, based in Berlin, Germany. She discovered her love for obstetrics and gynaecology while in medical school, thanks to an inspiring and passionate professor. After taking classes and observing prenatal appointments with high-risk pregnancy patients, it sparked an immediate interest and even fascination for the incredible transformation the female body is capable of.