Smoking when pregnant... RANT alert!

[Kelly450]

When ttc I cut down from twenty a day to a few a day. After my bfp I probably had one a day till about 6weeks and then stopped altogether and relyed soley on my vapour cigarette. After twekve weeks ive even stopped using that. I wont lie, ive had a feq cigarettes in the last 7 weeks but theyve made me feel so guilty ive even hid that from my OH!

Its difficult, it truly is. But if your primary concern is your baby then it should make it easier by incentive.

In my OPINION, saying that you're not going to quit because it will stress you and baby out too much is a cop out

Well done. I heard those cigarettes are really good to help stopping. And its good that your conscious was touched by having the odd few. I am sure the odd few are fine like they say the odd drink is. But id feel guilty at that odd one or two lol x

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[Gemsy]

To add, I am also quite relaxed about pregnancy....I have had the odd glass of wine, I'm still running around like a maniac lifting heavy things etc, and SHOCK HORROR I ate some camembert yesterday!! BUT - smoking is just horrible, It is guaranteed to kill you in the end, and it is awful for both your unborn child and your child once they are born. Why on earth anyone would carry on is beyond me.

 

[Kelly450]

To add, I am also quite relaxed about pregnancy....I have had the odd glass of wine, I'm still running around like a maniac lifting heavy things etc, and SHOCK HORROR I ate some camembert yesterday!! BUT - smoking is just horrible, It is guaranteed to kill you in the end, and it is awful for both your unborn child and your child once they are born. Why on earth anyone would carry on is beyond me.

Yeh I do the lifting etc. I dont think food can really effect you that much either but I haven't had any of that because I wouldn't normally eat it anyway lol. But atleast we know our limits with lifting and when we need to stop we can. We cant see the effect of smoking on the baby. But can feel like effect ourselves on lifting xx

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[vikster79]

Not pregnant but need to put my tuppence in. To the lady who says she doesnt do drugs or drink, I hate to break it to you but nicotine is a drug so you are harming your baby - simple.

 

[Pippa1703]

To add, I am also quite relaxed about pregnancy....I have had the odd glass of wine, I'm still running around like a maniac lifting heavy things etc, and SHOCK HORROR I ate some camembert yesterday!! BUT - smoking is just horrible, It is guaranteed to kill you in the end, and it is awful for both your unborn child and your child once they are born. Why on earth anyone would carry on is beyond me.

I hate to be pedantic here but smoking isnt guaranteed to kill you, my aunt lost nearly all her functions including walking and hearing. Her memory disappeared. But she could shout to high heaven and smoked til the day she died at the ripe age of 96. (It was a brain aneurysm unrelated to her 80 years of smoking!)
Im not an idiot, smoking is a killer and youd be a moron to start smoking this day and age.

Non the less, I have a similar approach to pregnancy,, I now have a glass of wine with dinner occasionally, runny eggs (which are actually no more of a threat than runny if you know anything about food science) and a bit of naughty cheese now and then too
However I'm guessing that youre a non smoker anyway? to say that all that is ok but to make such a sweeping statment that smoking is practically the devil! And id totally understand that coming from a nonsmoker, but it would be a bias opinion. (I apologise if my assumption is wrong of course! )

From a technically 'reformed' smoker, I dont think the odd one a week will be any more harmful than the odd glass if wine. However, one cigarette can turn into a few a lot easier than a glass woukd turn to a bottle iykwim.
If a box of cigs and a bottle of wine were in my house I know which one id find more difficult to ignore!

 

[Pippa1703]

When ttc I cut down from twenty a day to a few a day. After my bfp I probably had one a day till about 6weeks and then stopped altogether and relyed soley on my vapour cigarette. After twekve weeks ive even stopped using that. I wont lie, ive had a feq cigarettes in the last 7 weeks but theyve made me feel so guilty ive even hid that from my OH!

Its difficult, it truly is. But if your primary concern is your baby then it should make it easier by incentive.

In my OPINION, saying that you're not going to quit because it will stress you and baby out too much is a cop out

Well done. I heard those cigarettes are really good to help stopping. And its good that your conscious was touched by having the odd few. I am sure the odd few are fine like they say the odd drink is. But id feel guilty at that odd one or two lol x

Sent from my GT-I9300

The electronic ones arent half as good as the vapour ones. You get a more convincing simulation of smoking, ie taking it back and exhaling etc it almost embarrassing to admit that you have to 'trick' yourself out of smoking but if it works who cares!

 

[lozzle]

My mum smoked heavily through all of her pregnancies and me and my sister have awful eyesight and have to wear glasses all the time which is related to her smoking as no one else in the family has eyesight as bad as ours but back in when we were born they didn't make as a big a deal of it I suppose.

Thankfully her being a smoker put me off for life and my DD doesn't need glasses just my two pence in there.

 

[Gemsy]

Pippa - I am an ex-smoker, I gave up when I was pregnant.

I loved smoking, but I can see it is a dirty, nasty habit and as a smoker I would go out of my way to avoid non-smokers - why should they have to put up with our filthy habit when they have had the good sense not to start? And I certainly would not smoke around a pregnant woman.

And yes, we can all find someone who it hasn't killed, like we can all find an alcoholic who lived into ripe old age....but the odds are against you aren't they? Don't think I want to toy with those odds when I want to live to see my children grow up.

 

[Nomad]

When I first got together with my OH his best friend's partner was heavily pregnant with their first (and still only) child. She carried on smoking right up to 35 weeks when she finally quit (she hadn't actually tried to quit before then so it wasn't that she'd tried but not managed it) - they both work in the pub industry and she also carried on drinking (and I'm not talking the occasional tipple) right up to the birth. I was APPALLED but having only just met her and not wanting my OH's best friend to hate me I kept my opinions to myself. To this day she says she doesn't regret it as their son is perfectly fine... he may be perfectly healthy now but there is nothing to say he won't develop problems later in life as a result of the crap he had going through his tiny little body while he was growing. As a few other ladies have said, surely if your child were to be born with health problems you would always wonder (rightly or wrongly) whether it was caused by something you did while you were pregnant?

I was a smoker (though had cut right down to 2-3 a day) and also quite a heavy drinker when I found out I was pregnant. I've touched neither since getting my BFP. This is my personal choice but as I've said above, I would feel so guilty if there was anything 'wrong' with my child if I had smoked/drank during pregnancy that for me it simply isn't worth the risk.

 

[Emmalina]

If I can give up when pregnant I genuinely believe anyone can!

Agree with you MrsHop I was one of those who really loved smoking and had never considered giving it up. my baby was a welcome suprise and it took a mountain of willpower not to smoke anymore but the guilt would just eat me up, there are so many bad things smoking can do and i cant handle that, my mind would go into overdrive x

 

[Smileygirl]

Exactly u dont have 100% proof it harms the baby ive known people smoke outragpus amounts of cigarettes and have a healthy child and i also undetstanf about people stood at hospital doors supermarkets etc wen i have to walk in with my son knowing he will breath it in but i carnt go and rant about it as people have a choice what they do after all itd there body there lungs there child no one can dictate to them if they should smoke or not if people give up well done cos it is bloody hard x

Nobody has 100% proof that it doesnt harm the baby either....

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There may not be 100% proof it harms the baby, but nicotene is a drug just like alcohol or any other drug. If you smoke throughout your pregnancy your baby will be born addicted to it, no matter how small the addiction is it will be there in exactly the same way it is in a smoker. The withdrawl at birth is enough to say it harms them in my opinion, maybe not long term but certainlly in the initial days after birth.

It is really really hard to give up. Like I said earlier, I knew I wanted a baby so made sure I gave up before I even tried. I went from 25 a day for 10 years to none overnight. I had tried before and failed, but knowing I wanted a baby made me quit. It was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. BUT if I had not planned my pregnancy I know it would have been so much harder, especially with the added hormones. I suffered very severe anxiery which I think would have effected my baby hugely had I already been pregnant. I think as long as you are aware what you are doing, and try to stop/cut down then that is the main thing. Its the people who dont care if they are harming the baby and have the 'so what' attitude that makes me angry.

Yep I agree. When she said there is not 100% proof it harms the baby, there is also not 100% proof it doesn't. if its so bad for you then surely its bad gor your baby too xx

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I agree. But even if were ever 100% proven that smoking didn't harm your child, is it fair on the child to have a parent who is inflicting that much harm on themselves? The child needs their parents and surely you should do everything possible to ensure you don't die an early death, for the sake of your child?

 

[Kelly450]

Exactly u dont have 100% proof it harms the baby ive known people smoke outragpus amounts of cigarettes and have a healthy child and i also undetstanf about people stood at hospital doors supermarkets etc wen i have to walk in with my son knowing he will breath it in but i carnt go and rant about it as people have a choice what they do after all itd there body there lungs there child no one can dictate to them if they should smoke or not if people give up well done cos it is bloody hard x

Nobody has 100% proof that it doesnt harm the baby either....

Sent from my GT-I9300

There may not be 100% proof it harms the baby, but nicotene is a drug just like alcohol or any other drug. If you smoke throughout your pregnancy your baby will be born addicted to it, no matter how small the addiction is it will be there in exactly the same way it is in a smoker. The withdrawl at birth is enough to say it harms them in my opinion, maybe not long term but certainlly in the initial days after birth.

It is really really hard to give up. Like I said earlier, I knew I wanted a baby so made sure I gave up before I even tried. I went from 25 a day for 10 years to none overnight. I had tried before and failed, but knowing I wanted a baby made me quit. It was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. BUT if I had not planned my pregnancy I know it would have been so much harder, especially with the added hormones. I suffered very severe anxiery which I think would have effected my baby hugely had I already been pregnant. I think as long as you are aware what you are doing, and try to stop/cut down then that is the main thing. Its the people who dont care if they are harming the baby and have the 'so what' attitude that makes me angry.

Yep I agree. When she said there is not 100% proof it harms the baby, there is also not 100% proof it doesn't. if its so bad for you then surely its bad gor your baby too xx

Sent from my GT-I9300

I agree. But even if were ever 100% proven that smoking didn't harm your child, is it fair on the child to have a parent who is inflicting that much harm on themselves? The child needs their parents and surely you should do everything possible to ensure you don't die an early death, for the sake of your child?

Well thats what I think and have been saying. Its just a shame ppl disagree x

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[nbrintz]

I did post a thread on smoking when pregnant saying it annoyed me in tri 1 but it got locked due to people getting upset and saying it was not fair and I was being very judge mental and then it ascalated and people took it the wrong way and said I was basically saying they deserved to loose their babies because they smoked would never wish that on anyone but I def do not agree with smoking drinking or taking drugs whilst being pregnant ! X

 

[jodie34]

I do agree thats why i quit i just dont like peoples attitude that if ur baby is born with health problems it gets blamed on smoking like i said before i smoke until i got pregnant with my son and hada few slips whilst pregnant so does that mean his severe asthma , autism and enurisis problems werecaused by me mostof u will be quick to judge and say yes wen in fact it was neglegence of the hospital that caused my sons illnesses and disabilities like i say people are too quick to judge

 

[nbrintz]

No i probably would not blame somone for their child's health probs due to smoking my mum smoked all the way through with me and I was born fine just small at 4lb11oz but I think I would blame myself if there was a prob with my babies health and I had smoked I gave up when I got my bfp and I will admit there has been days when I could reall have cigarette but I have resisted

 

[jodie34]

That post sounds like u think i should blame myself Well i did blame myselfand suffered with severe depression bcos i blamed myself but wen my dr gave me facts and evidence that it wasnt and that it was bcos i was left heamorraging for 6 hours !! Thats why i think people dont realise what emotions can be stirred up by posts and comments on touchy subjects like this

 

[nbrintz]

That post sounds like u think i should blame myself Well i did blame myselfand suffered with severe depression bcos i blamed myself but wen my dr gave me facts and evidence that it wasnt and that it was bcos i was left heamorraging for 6 hours !! Thats why i think people dont realise what emotions can be stirred up by posts and comments on touchy subjects like this

No I just meant I would blame myself and but like anything I had bleeding in tri 1 and lost clots one the size of a plum I was sure I had miscarried and I hadn't smoked or drank or taken drugs since getting my bfp but I still blamed myself and thought it must be somthing I had done I wasn't saying u should blame yourself again another thread it doesn't matter what anyone says it always some how gets twisted and taken the wrong way

 

[BevG]

i smoked 20 a day for 15 years and quit the day after i got my first BFP. i never had a single one after that and will never again, its just not worth it. i got myself a babys dummy and everytime i felt like a cig id get that out and twiddle it with my fingers or stick it in my mouth. didnt give a toss what it looked like a 30 yr old sucking a dummy it reminded me why i was quitting and occupied my mouth and fingers. i really believe that anyone can quit if they have a good enough reason and saying it stresses you out is worse for the baby is a bit of a cop out but hey ppl lie to themselves all the time to excuse their behaviours and who am i to pull away their illusions

 

[Allinaday]

So many women think that pregnancy is all about themselves, but it's not!. Being pregnant means you need to turn into a selfless person. If you can't make the general sacrifices than don't get pregnant!

 

[JoeyClare]

I have to say I agree with the majority. There is plenty of research that links smoking when pregnant to problems children can have. To say 'so and so had a child and smoked and they're perfectly healthy' is just serious denial! It might be easy for me to be anti-smoking when pregnant as I have never smoked, but my husband had smoked for 14 years when I got my BFP and he quit. It wasn't easy, but he wasn't willing to smoke around me or his child. That's the attitude of someone who isn't even carrying a baby and responsible for their healthy development and growth.

I have to admit my cousin smoked throughout her pregnancy. Luckily her daughter seems healthy. She is considerate in that she wont smoke around me as I'm pregnant, yet moves away with her daughter sat in the pram breathing in all the smoke. The fact she moves from me shows she is more than aware that smoking is potentially dangerous, but she is happy for her own baby to breathe it in.