Smoking During Pregnancy & Early Pregnancy Ultrasound: Expert Answers

Question
I have a couple questions.  First one is do doctors recommend women to not quit smoking cold turkey?  I know someone who is about 4 months pregnant and is still smoking cigarettes and smokes at least 3 joints a day.  What are the side effects?  And also, can a doctor tell how far along you are just by an ultrasound if they say you're 7 1/2 weeks along? can someone tell they are pregnant at only 2 weeks? I'm so confused.

Answer
Hi Beth,

We don't advise just stopping, but gradually cutting down and then stopping smoking. Smoking marijuana while pregnant is bad because it interferes with the fetus blood supply and deprives the fetus of oxygen. The fetus may be born with low birth weight. Smoking also increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome. Ultrasound shows how far along you are by measuring the fetus. By 2 weeks pregnant the embryo may or may not have yet been fertilized so no you cannot tell by 2 weeks if you are pregnant.