Is it possible to smoke hookah while breastfeeding: how long does it take to be removed from the body?

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.

Benefits and harms

Undoubtedly, smoking a hookah allows you to relax and relieve stress. You may be attracted to the cooking procedure, which is conducive to a peaceful and philosophical mood, and the environment in which this should take place.

Well, then, for smoking you can use purely aromatic mixtures, without adding tobacco, and as a liquid - decoctions of medicinal herbs or water with essential oils. Not just smoking, but a pleasant and therapeutic inhalation.

But not everything is so good! And here's the proof:

Through a hookah, a person inhales smoke, and a much larger dose than from a cigarette. And smoke is also carbon monoxide. In 45 minutes of smoking a hookah, a person receives the same amount of carbon monoxide as from a pack of cigarettes; What happens when a nursing mother smokes, read the article: Is it possible for a nursing mother to smoke?>>>
In addition, recent studies show that no matter how purified the smoke in a hookah is, it still contains a high proportion of carcinogens. There is no need to talk about their harm;
When smoking a hookah, you need to take deep puffs, so the smoke, penetrating inside, completely fills the lungs. In addition, it is wet smoke that sticks to their walls.
The composition of smoking mixtures also raises a big question. The majority of such products are not tested for safety and quality. They may also contain minor substances (glycerin, flavorings, preservatives).

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

What is a hookah

Of course, those who constantly smoke hookah know what it is and how it works. This device consists of a vessel, a bowl on it, and tubes extending from it with a mouthpiece at the end. Water is poured into the vessel itself, through which the tobacco vapors are purified.

Hookah came to us from India, where it was invented back in the 13-14th century. From there it spread throughout all Arab and Muslim countries. He was especially loved in Turkey. With greater distribution, bowls and vessels began to be made of silver, gold and other precious metals and decorated with stones and patterns. Products made from aromatic wood varieties are also possible. The mouthpiece is also made from various types of wood and metal.

This hobby came to Europe and, in particular, to Russia during the period of the spread of oriental culture. Now it's still fashionable. People like to relax with it in company and even purchase it for individual home use. For greater enjoyment of the process, various flavored tobacco mixtures (apple, orange, etc.) are used. In youth parties, they often use hemp instead of tobacco, which is a very bad sign.

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

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!

SMOKING while breastfeeding. Issue 69

Nina Zaichenko - all about breastfeeding - author of the Youtube channel

The myth about the harmlessness of smoking during pregnancy

Hookah, as a special smoking device, was brought from the East relatively recently. Many manufacturers position it as a safe alternative to cigarettes, but this is a deception. Despite the fact that liquid (water, juice, milk) acts as a “filter” and retains some harmful substances, the bulk of them, of course, goes “as intended.” For reference: even 10% of smoke does not pass through “filtration” fully.

To answer the question “Is it possible to smoke a hookah during pregnancy?” I propose to compare, for starters, the harm from smoking cigarettes and from a miraculous vessel.

So which does more harm? The answer, of course, is obvious: both will undoubtedly cause serious harm to health, and even more so to the health of a pregnant woman. However, it is worth noting:

Hookah, like regular cigarette smoke, contains two of the most harmful chemical compounds - nicotine and carbon monoxide. With one puff, 3-7 times more nicotine, 2 times more carbon monoxide, tars and heavy metal salts enter the bloodstream than with a similar puff of a cigarette.
The coals placed on top of the foil heat up to a very high temperature, and even through raw tobacco, benzopyrene, a particularly dangerous chemical carcinogen that causes cancer, can enter the body.
The production of smoking tobacco is not easy to trace, so the mixture may contain substances much more dangerous than cigarette tobacco. In addition, smoking mixtures are mostly aromatic, and there is a high probability of adding flavor enhancers to them, which will also have a detrimental effect on health.
And finally, the process of smoking a hookah takes about half an hour, which is almost 6 times longer than “using” a cigarette, which means that many times more harmful chemical compounds enter the body.