Smoking during pregnancy

[Charlie:-)]

When my sis found out she was pregnant the doc & midwife told her to gradually cut down and aim to quit before she reached 12 weeks.

She read Alan Carrs book and stopped straight away, I was really proud that she had done it. She had been smoking for 18 years.

Worth a try?

 

[Pinklady85]

yeah ill look into getting that ...seems pretty good ill do anything to make it easyer for me

 

[annem]

i was lucky and decided to give up the day i conceived (obviously i did not know i had!).

Another story that may make you quit-A girl i know s son has had a bad cough since birth (he s about 1year now) and is always having to visit the doc. I thought she smoked 1 or 2 a day but my friend said it was nearer 15!! she must be feeling realy guilty now as who knows the damage she has done.

Good luck giving up, its early enough in the preg to make a difference. It's best to get advise from doc.

All the best

 

[xrachx]

Well, i have been a smoker for 22 years, since i was 13, and last year we were starting our first IVF treatment, i got asked if i was a smoker and i got informed that the risk of the treatment failing was as much as 75% now that was the shove i needed, so off to the doctors i went.
Thursday the 12th of October i got an appointment with my doctor and explained the situation and told him i needed help, he said to me that i would get a phone call from the No Smoking clinic and to go home and wait for the phone call which would be about 3-4 weeks!!! i thought he was having a laugh with me so i started laughing...but no, he wouldnt help me by prescribing patches until i had counselling as they are too expensive! hellooooo....does he know how much ivf costs?
well that infuriated me, so the next day, FRIDAY THE 13TH i stopped.
That was it, my mind was made up and i havent touched one since, i am not saying its easy because its not but the more you keep thinking...oh i will just have one, thats the worse thing you can do, it takes around four days to be rid, thats all four days, its mind over matter the life inside you should be your "shove"
And guess what...the ivf worked and i have 5 weeks to go, count yourself lucky you dont have any difficulties getting that little life inside of you, its the most precious thing in the world and you should do everything in you power to protect it.

 

[caz86]

just read this post and i have to say i agree with minda 200% i know u all mite think its harsh but wouldnt u rather her tell u how it is or some people sayin wot they think u wanna hear like dnt worri givin up i smoked all the way through and all tha crap it annoys me for ppl to think its ok t smoke when pregnant not sayin u think its ok but it jus gets to me. my mam smoked with me and all my siblins she sed "it done nothing to u " nut really it did we ALL have a medical condition in some way. so if u can i would stop stick to the gum n all tha and theres 1 thing u need most is WILLPOWER which im sure your unborn baby will give you right??

 

[Pinklady85]

Yes..Thank you very much thats inspiring..ive given up as from an hour ago xx

 

[caz86]

well done hun surly theres nothing more dicraseful as a woman goin in to labour with a fag in their mouth when i had my daughter the amount of heavily pregnant women with fags hanging out of their mouths was disappointing dont u think ?
xxx

 

[scottishterrier]

well done and good luck. i stopped smoking almost 2 weeks ago and havnt looked back. i love that my house smells fresh and that i have an extra few quid in my purse each week and i feel better for it. x

 

[x Naomi x]

I think this a good topic to bring up, i smoke when i drink and so will be ok on that one as i only go out about every two months LOL!

My friend smoked through her 1st pregnancy and she was shocked when her daughter came out at 6LB she is 5ft 11 and her OH 6ft 2 so she shouldnt have been that small, anyway she gave up before her next baby and he was 9lb 4 when he was born so thats my proof infront of my eyes

well done everyone who gives up smoking, xxxx

 

[rachie29]

quitting smoking is hard.... i was lucky i think, the mere thought of a fag sent me heading for the toilet so i found it quite easy to stop....

Just keep reminding yourself why you have quit and it does get easier... well done!

 

[jue]

I have 4 children and a bump. I only started smoking after the birth of number 2.......smokes all the way through pregnancy number 3....

My son who is now 14 has ADHD, I now know there is a link to smoking in pregnancy and adhd. Maybe he would have had it anyway, I will never know. He is very intelligent and smart but his life is very altered due to adhd. I will have to live with the guilt for the rest of my life, every struggle he has faced I have secretly blamed myself for.

I have not smoked for years, just wish I had not smoked through 3rd pregnancy.

I am not trying to make anyone feel guilty about anything here, just use the information out there to make an informed decision.

Good luck x

 

[poppy160]

Hi Pinklady! I used to smoke and gave up just before I found out about my pregnancy in June. I found that with the smoking ban approaching (and I was going abroad the next day) it would be the perfect time to quit. I found it really difficult, even when relaxing on the beach on holiday..then halfway through it I found out I was pregnant, that was a better incentive than anything else. I still craved it though but never gave in because I want this baby so much and want it to be healthy. Then when I got to about 6 weeks pregnant I found that even the thought of smoking made me feel like puking and it's been like that ever since! You may find that this happens to you..believe me it makes quitting so much easier! Well done for giving up, keep up the good work!

 

[lisa&alex]

i think its very important to say..the 1st 12 weeks are the most important to not introduce toxins to your embryo/fetus...think.. it goes from an egg into a embryo then a fetus.. all in 12 weeks..think of the developments dissasters that can happen.. i think as soon as women find out they are preg they should stop all harmfull toxins from being taken in, drink, drugs and fags.. simple as..i really think its selfish not to. (this isnt a dig at anyone.. just pbviously others read this who are thinking of gettign preg,.. or have just found out etc)

 

[muppetmummy]

I smoked all through my first pregnancy (I was a lot more selfish back then ) and my son was born low birth weight and stopped breathing several times in the first couple weeks of his life. Although they didn't say that was the reason why it couldn't have helped. Luckily he's fine now but I really regret smoking and wish I could turn the clock back.

My niece who's currently pregnant was continuing to smoke during her pregnancy until she found out at 23 weeks the baby was growing properly and they almost made the decision to deliver him that week. Luckily they were able to leave it, and she quit smoking. Surprise, surprise the baby is now doing ok.

I know it's really hard to quit, and it does seem like a lot of women smoke and get away with it....but there's always loads more who's babys suffer

 

[Tillytots]

hello pinklady

I stopped smoking 3 weeks ago after smoking for over 10yrs since I was 13...about 20+ a day and at weekends easily 40-50 in a night after a drink I was the smoker who had a fag hanging out her mouth within a few mins of waking up.

When I found out I was pregnant I knew I had to stop but I would ask around....who smoked during their pregnancy? What I was looking for was someone to say...yea its ok to smoke. I went to my doc to confirm pregnancy and he gave me a right rollocking.....I said I had cut down and he said AND?! you think cutting down is acceptable...? I felt ashamed.


I felt so guilty, what was I doing to my baby? While its true plenty of people smoke throughout their pregnancy and say yea my baby is fine....WHAT IF? What if my baby was born with problems due to me smoking? I owed it to my baby as a mum to give it the best possible chance in life.

I think its selfish to smoke. While it is hard to stop no-one is going to die through not having a fag. I just had to get my head around the cravings and realise everytime I didnt give in I was doing something good and I was winning. 4 days is all it took and after that I didnt crave at all. It was so easy to stop once I had the motivation that I feel slightly pathetic that I didnt stop sooner. I do eat more sweets now and will probably put on weight but weight can be shed and Id rather be a little fatty than a smoker

Try telling yourself you have stopped smoking instead of quit. Quitting is for losers and you arent denying yourself anything at all, you're doing yourself a favour.

I wish you best of luck and believe me it is such an amazing feeling once you have done it you'll never look back.

xx

 

[kellysomer]

I have to say that i have never smoked in my life and wouldnt want to , i think smoking during pregnancy in this educated age is absolutely unforgivable and really sad for the baby.

But i understand how hard it is to quit and how hard it must be to feel guilty but be addicted. I have so much sympathy.

I want to personally say to all the smokers to go for it. TRY TRY TRY! Its only 9 months and just tink of your precious baby in your arms, its so worth it.

Best of luck to all of you quitting and well done in advance. Every ciggie you dont smoke is one less to poison your baby.

WELL DONE!

 

[Josephine_Beth]

I was a smoker for 10yrs and when I found out i was preggers I wanted to give up but was adivsed to cut down, rather than stop out right. Apparently stopping out right, the smokers cough could bring on a miscarriage at an early stage, whether or not that is true, i dunno.

By the time i hit 4 months, i just got sick of cigs, i would light one up take 2 puffs and put it out. The smell became horrid and I just stopped straight out.

 

[Red_Fairy]

firstly id lik to give pink lady a massive hug

Im quite disgusted with this thread and some people on it jumping the gun to start hailing insults and suggestions that she mustnt love her baby enough cos she smokes. because somone has a problem with quitting smoking (which btw fooking thousands apon thousands of people do have a problem quitting everyday - theres some reports that it is addictive as herion ffs.) And start bringing up babies that have died! WTF? this has no relation to smoking whatsoever.
And if your one of the VERY few who could quit right away without a problem well well done, great, your so fooking perfect. Oh and you love your child more then me obviously. FFS.

I didnt quiet through Hannah - i went from 15 aday to 1 aday. And im still at that 1. Of a night before bed. Oh and i had a prefectly healthy baby who weighd 8lbs8oz - and she hasnt so much as had a sniffle in her four months on this planet.

Anyway - sending you hugs P.L and all the best with quitting

 

[Pinklady85]

Thanks so much for that hun very nice xxxxxxxxxxxx and very true xxxx

 

[Josephine_Beth]

The only probs I have known about in women that smoked during pregnancy was that they were unable to breast feed their babies for long, my bessie mate only managed a week before the milk went, the other 4 friends wither couldn't produce or only got to 2 weeks but they were heavy smokers during a pregnacy.

however, their children are very healthy and fine, i doubt smoking has an effect on an unborn baby to be honest.

edited to say: It's a disgrace people jumping on the smokers for smoking, it's not easy giving up just like that, atleast they are trying to give up or had a go at giving up. At the end of the day, it's their body, just because they are smoking, it don't mean they do not love their child!!

Hugs to pink