smoking while pregnant *may cause some bad reactions*

[Sarah W Baby Belly]

My mum smoked for the whole nine months with me and my brother and then continued to smoke around us as kids.

If the truth be known she probably smoked whilst breast-feeding.

Luckily I have turned out OK, but whenever I get a cold I always get a terrible chesty cough for weeks afterwards and in my mind I blame her for smoking every time.

We don't ever talk about it, but I am not pleased about it at all.

 

[LouisecH]

why shud i have to stand with my new born baby next to 20 pregnant women smoking roll ups which stink so bad.. i wanted my baby to enjoy her first breath of fresh air. but no she gets a gob full of smoke coz some people cant be considerate, i dont care if u wanna smoke and poison ur baby.. but dont do it places where it can harm my baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I agree with you completely on this point. That would have really upset me.
I just don't like to judge people when I can't claim to be 100% perfect in everyway myself. Maybe others can

 

[Layla]

You people are all very judgemental.

You don't know why those women haven't stopped smoking. It's not all roses you know. Some women are in bad relationships and/or experiencing a great deal of stress through their pregnancies and you are only adding to that with your holier than thou attitude.

I know I should give up. I have cut down - a lot - but I am under a lot of pressure partly because of this pregnancy- much wanted though it is - and I can tell you that getting dirty or disdainful looks for smoking the occasional roll-up does nothing to help me to feel less stressed or help me to quit; it just adds to the pressure.

And for your information, if you are going to smoke, it is - I won't say better - less bad to smoke roll-ups than ready made cigarettes so less of the 'damn rollies' first.time.daddy

Thanks to futuremum for at least understanding that it can be difficult to stop. I don't think it's cool to smoke while pregnant, but I don't think it's cool to be a gibbering wreck either.

And layla - learn to spell and punctuate before you brand others 'coman'

if you read what i said better than you will find i didnt say anywhere it was easy to give up, i still crave them now, but the health of my baby is more important to me than a ciggy, thats just how i see it.

my mum started smoking after she had my older sister, she is fine but me and my 2 younger sisters have ashma, im convinced its coz my mum smoked while carrying us.

if a child wants to grow up and smoke then fine, its there choice, but right now you are forceing that baby to smoke and pumping toxins in to its body, which is just not fair.

this is something i feel very strongly about, as do you do about smokeing so it seems.

as for my spelling, i know i cant spell, its always been my weak point, never know, all teh toxins my mum pumped in to me while im the womb and then after i was born breathing in her smoke might have damanged me more than giving me ashma!

 

[rach]

think this subject should be locked now as everyone is arguing. there are a lot of nasty things being said and this is not what the forum is about.
everyone is entitled to their opinions and nobody should be critisized (might have spelt that wrong) for their opinions.
i am a smoker and im not proud of it nor do i agree with smoking during pregnancy or around children i am trying to quit and have cut down dramatically hopefully within the next week i will be able to say i dont smoke anymore, im not finding it easy and couldnt just throw them away wish i could i have no excuses.
we all know its bad to smoke and of all the risks involved in doing so.
this is a friendly helpful site and it would be a shame if new ppl where put off by bitchiness and arguing
xxxxxxxxx

 

[Skidoo]

I'm sorry - it just really gets my back up when people criticise with no idea what the background story is.

Just so you know my mother smoked and so did at least one and probably both of my grandmothers. They also drank. And ate liver. And probably ate runny eggs and did a lot of other things we're 'not supposed' to do today. And you know what? I'm fine; quite bizarrely healthy really. Apart from the odd addiction here and there - but who's perfect, eh?

Pregnant women are under a lot of pressure these days and I for one don't need to feel like I've have lost the right to my own body and my own decisions just because I'm pregnant.

OF COURSE I should quit smoking. I should also probably not be commuting on crowded buses - often standing for half the journey - for 2 hours a day to a stressful full time job, I should not be stressed over my housing situation, I should not be in a situation where the only way to get a bit of peace at home is to sit and cry (very quietly so as not to bother my step-son) in the (non-smoking btw) bedroom with ear plugs in.

Thank you and goodnight.

 

what your background has got to do with smoking i have no idea , i think you have taken this all to personally and attacking people because off their spelling is abit pointless.

you can do what you want in your own home , i was commenting on people smoking in a NO SMOKING area of a hospital and watching kids inhale second hand smoke.

you may have a rough time , but i dont think that means you should pop down the shop to buy 20 b&h and take up smoking. Everyone has their owns minds and will power so its up to you what you do. Just think of others while your doing it. an no SKIDOO its not directly pointed at you as one person.


rach yes you spelt it wrong its CRITICISED but i wont hold it against you lol

 

[rach]

lol knew it didnt look right am useless at spelling thats what i get for trying to use big words lmao xxx

 

[Amanda]

Firstly, well done to everyone who has quit, I know only too well how hard it is. I am 35 years old and have smoked since the age of 13. I have managed to give up about 3 times, once for over 3 years. Why I started again, I have no idea.

Well, the good news is that I am quitting, and so is my husband. We went to Cyprus on our honeymoon in June, and brought back hundreds of cheap(er) fags. I opened the last sleeve of 200 this morning, and when they are gone that is it. No more. Finished. Final. Non-smokers. For life this time.

We are both so determined to do it, and instead of saying that we will quit on say, New Years Eve, we've decided that when they're gone, that's when we're stopping. Don't get me wrong, we both know it's going to be hard, almost everyone I work with smokes, and every single one of our social circle does. But we do not want to do this horrible thing any more. I am just recovering from the 'flu, and DH had a stinking cold at the same time, and although we are both feeling much better, we have the most horrendous dog bark coughs. There's no running away from it, we know it's because of the fags. So no more.

When I was pregnant with my daughter 13 years ago, I cut down from 20 to 1 or 2 a day, but I know that was not enough. I should have quit then and stayed stopped.

Wish me luck peeps, I may need to come on here and rant and rave a bit next week, but within a month, I will be able to tell you all that I am no longer a smoker.

 

[Layla]

good luck tankett!

you will do it im sure

I did the same, stopped when i got pregnant but started again after, and like you, i have no idea why.

its diffrent for me this time tho, i seem to have more will power, its like i want it more, think coz im older, so fingers crossed i will not start up again after.

 

[tracyM]

I'm also still a smoker - cut down drastically since leaving work in April, but still can't get over the after tea, before bed and first thing in the morning ones.

OH is a non smoker so today I've cleared the bank account by paying off credit cards and have no money coming in until next week. Told mum not to lend me any money and once this baccy is finished thats it. Thanks for the shove!!

Weird to think that 12 years ago, when I had Daniel, there was a smoking room in the maternity ward - everyone went there instead of the day room - it's now been converted to the 'breast feeding' room.

 

[LouisecH]

Well done on everyone who's giving up. It isn't easy - well it wasn't for me, I cried and shouted and chewed all my nails off for a couple of weeks but it was well worth it. I feel so much healthier 18 months on.

Maybe we should suggest a giving up smoking support section here so people could encourage each other and share giving up tips?

Skidoo - sounds like you're having a rough time. Are you OK?

 

[LauraB]

Sorry peeps, I've only just noticed this topic.

Whilst this IS a relevant topic for discussion (and for this reason I will keep the topic active - for now anyway) please keep the discussion friendly. I try to promote Pregnancy Forum as a friendly place where people can come for advice and support when they need it most, whatever their situation may be.

All members are perfectly entitled to put their views forward on any subject, however please remember that even if you do not share the same views as somebody else, there is really no need for the conversation to go downhill as it has done in here.

On a related note, and this applies to all topics in all forums across the site - please remember that judgmental comments against another member are not permitted at any time. Everybody's situation is different, you may not know all the details but, and most importantly, nobody is here to be judged.

Best wishes,
Laura B

 

[AmberNicole]

My husband and I took Ava on a walk last week and this old woman was puffing away while cruising the sidewalks on her motorized scooter. She stopped, wanting a look at our baby while blowing smoke in our faces. I don't think so! How rude is that?! Completely irked me.

Anyway....I'm not a smoker so I don't know what it's like or anything but I still can't see how someone could continue such an unhealthy habit while a precious baby is growing inside. My mom did it with my 2 brothers and me and yes we're fine, but still! That doesn't make it right so I don't like it when people use that argument, "It happened to me or so and so, and I'm fine."

 

[LucyBee]

I would recommend nicotine patches to anyone who is trying to give up.
I tried NiQuitin and they did the trick. Be careful not to get too high a dosage though as I made that mistake and spent a whole morning spinning out.

The other thing I would recommend for those trying to give up is the book 'Alan Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking'.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASI ... 31-6761459

My brother and a friend of mine read this and both never touched a ciggie again despite both having smoked heavily for over ten years.

Probably one of the best things though is support so maybe those of you trying to give up could help each other through it? Sometimes it helps to know you're not on your own and have someone to talk too when the cravings get too much.

Lucyx

 

[futuremum]

It does take some courage to stop smoking!!!!! How many times did I tell myself "after this packet, it is over".... hmmm for a couple of days!!!!

This time, it was different!!! I know it does sound bad but I did not stop for me but for the baby, otherwise I will still be a smoker.

I smoked during the first term of my pregnancy, having problems with b/f( did not know if I was keeping the baby or not, having him adopted or not, I was in a right state but will not go into details...), money problems, housing problems etc... and yes smoking helped me to relax a bit, well I thought so...

Once I knew I wanted to keep this baby and got my head back to a bit of normality (hormones were just rushing in), I decided to call the support group(mine was called Resolution but you can have Green leaf...) of my area and she was great!!!! Not only I talked about my cravings but about my problems at home a bit and she did help me a lot.

Thanks to her help, i managed to quit the smoking and as I said before my b/f smokes a lot, our relationship is better but my financial problems are worse than before, housing is the same and my job is stressful too!!!! But I am not more stressed than if I was smoking, not at all!!!

The addiction of the nicotine makes you believe that without it, you cannot manage and this is FALSE!!!! When I argued with my b/f, my first reaction was to reach for a fag to calm me down. But I forced myself not to and now I can handle a stressful situation better than before because I do not have to reach or look for one!!!!

Addiction to nicotine is stronger than heroine addiction so people should understand that it is not an easy thing to do. I think the thing that will make people stop smoking is when they have decided their time is right and have a bit more confidence in themselves.Those people should not be judged but supported because I KNOW it is not easy, still craving for one from time to time. I talked to my b/f about this and I hope he is going to support me keeping up the good work I made and not offering me fags once the baby is born!!!!

Sorry for the long post, I did write a post a few weeks ago on the topic to get some support, people, feel free to use it to support each other, this is much stronger than the nicotine replacement and bear in mind that even stopping smoking a few weeks before birth is still better than not stopping at all

 

[futuremum]

It does take some courage to stop smoking!!!!! How many times did I tell myself "after this packet, it is over".... hmmm for a couple of days!!!!

This time, it was different!!! I know it does sound bad but I did not stop for me but for the baby, otherwise I will still be a smoker.

I smoked during the first term of my pregnancy, having problems with b/f( did not know if I was keeping the baby or not, having him adopted or not, I was in a right state but will not go into details...), money problems, housing problems etc... and yes smoking helped me to relax a bit, well I thought so...

Once I knew I wanted to keep this baby and got my head back to a bit of normality (hormones were just rushing in), I decided to call the support group(mine was called Resolution but you can have Green leaf...) of my area and she was great!!!! Not only I talked about my cravings but about my problems at home a bit and she did help me a lot.

Thanks to her help, i managed to quit the smoking and as I said before my b/f smokes a lot, our relationship is better but my financial problems are worse than before, housing is the same and my job is stressful too!!!! But I am not more stressed than if I was smoking, not at all!!!

The addiction of the nicotine makes you believe that without it, you cannot manage and this is FALSE!!!! When I argued with my b/f, my first reaction was to reach for a fag to calm me down. But I forced myself not to and now I can handle a stressful situation better than before because I do not have to reach or look for one!!!!

Addiction to nicotine is stronger than heroine addiction so people should understand that it is not an easy thing to do. I think the thing that will make people stop smoking is when they have decided their time is right and have a bit more confidence in themselves.Those people should not be judged but supported because I KNOW it is not easy, still craving for one from time to time. I talked to my b/f about this and I hope he is going to support me keeping up the good work I made and not offering me fags once the baby is born!!!!

Sorry for the long post, I did write a post a few weeks ago on the topic to get some support, people, feel free to use it to support each other, this is much stronger than the nicotine replacement and bear in mind that even stopping smoking a few weeks before birth is still better than not stopping at all

 

[futuremum]

sorry did not mean to send it twice

 

[sarah113]

hi all
cograts to all you who have given up smoking,
i am trying my very hardest to give up smoking this time and have cut down to just 3 a day it has been hard cosidering i was on 30-40 a day, i smoked all the way through with my other 2 children and i really regret it and i hate myself for it.
i think that i am doing quite well as i came off my anti depressants wen i found out i was pregnant and ive cut down alot on my fags.
(sorry if none of it makes sense)

sarahxxxxx

 

[minikins]

I think (again it's only my opinion not everyone elses and we are all different), if you can't give up for the sake of your baby you never will. And they will probably end up smoking one day too if they learn from mum and dad.

My dad used to smoke in the car, when he picked me up during visits (my folks are divorced) when I was a kid and I had asthma too - how selfish is that. I pleaded with him to stop even as a kid. He smoked so much nicotine used to drip down the windows - yuk!

 

[Skidoo]

I’m sorry I went off at the deep end like that. I’ve been having a bit of a rough time lately.

I guess there are a couple of issues:

One is whether or not women who don't / can't stop smoking when pregnant should be pilloried for their addiction. Please note it is an addiction, and a very strong one as someone else pointed out. Smoking may not relieve stress, but for an addict, the lack of it is very stress inducing. And, as far as I know, stress is not good for mother or baby either!

Please remember that you don’t know anything about the woman you are casting dirty looks at for smoking. For all you know she has an abusive partner or has just lost her job or is in some other intolerable situation that smoking won’t relieve, but may stop her going completely over the edge.

Remember it's her body and her baby and her situation and - unless she's a friend of yours - you don't know enough to make a judgement about her as a person or as a mother and you are only adding to her stress

Another issue is whether or not anyone has the right to smoke around your baby. To which the answer is 'of course not'! I am most certainly not defending the right of anyone to smoke in a place where you have to take your baby. I’m shocked to hear there were smoking rooms on maternity wards only 12 years ago!!

Then there’s the background issue. I mention my background because, like my mother and grandmothers, a great many women used to smoke when pregnant and their children aren’t necessarily sickly or stupid. I’m certainly not the former and don’t believe I’m the latter!

And it’s been pointed out that a mother who smokes is likely to have kids who grow up to smoke. My mother smoked and so do I. Do I want my daughter to smoke – no. It does worry me, but then I know smokers who’s parents never did and non-smokers who were put off by their parents’ habit. And my partner flatly refuses to even contemplate quitting, so my kid(s) will grow up around smoking whatever I do.

Lastly - I’m sorry about the spelling remark. It is judgemental of me, but it’s a bugbear for different reasons. I was appalled to find out recently that my step-daughter’s appalling spelling was not being corrected by her teachers. I spoke to a teacher friend about it and found out that there’s some new politically correct garbage around that correcting kids’ spelling and punctuation will discourage them. My friend is only allowed to correct 3 spelling/punctuation issues in any one homework. It seems that fewer and fewer people know how to spell these days – and don’t tell me they’re all dyslexic. I’m concerned about my kid growing up in a world where only the pedants amongst us will know the difference between there, their and they’re.

(and I took the trouble to spell check this just to make sure!)