Smoking in pregnancy???

[Babyblues14]

just wanted to know how easy people found it to quit smoking once they found out they were pregnant. Did you manage to stop instantly or did you have to cut down???
I have been smoking for ten years and get terrible mood swings when I dont have any. People dont believe how bad they are until they actually see it. I have known I am pregnant for about a month and have managed to cut down massively. from 20 a day to 5. But family and dh are still having a go at me, I do want to stop completely but im finding it difficult. How was your experience with this?

[notanothernamechangebabes]

I quit the day I found out. I'd seen the video of babies in the womb while their mothers were smoking. It's horrendous (the videos- Not passing judgement on you- you already know you need to stop).

Would you give a 6 month old a cigarette?? It's just the same with your unborn baby. Every time you reach for one, imagine putting it in your tiny, sweet baby's mouth. That should be a good visual to help you stop.

Also see your GP for medical help.

[MinnieNoush]

I quite long before getting pregnant but I went from 30 a day to 0 over night. It's all about mind over matter, you just ned to make the decision and stick with it. Smoking is SO harmful to a growing foetus, you just need to be strong and go cold turkey!!
Try breaking your routines, if for example you would usually have one of those 5 cigarettes at lunch time, try going for a walk instead. If you would normally have one after diner, try doing something different like doing some breathing exercises or stretches.
Good luck!

[MrsCharlieD]

I quit smoking the day I found out and haven't dmoked since. That was over 3 years ago. Everytime you inhale smoke your baby is being starved of oxygen. You are giving your baby harmful toxins that could cause issues like asthma once the baby is born. I have seen the placenta of someone who smoked through their pregnancy and it was not normal. Apparently the midwife said it was gritty? Please stop smoking. You are so incredibly lucky to be pregnant when so many people can't be. Give your child the best possible start in life now.

[GTS]

Try the Alan Carr book and quit today.

As I midwife I can promise you that the placentas of smokers are vile. Grey, gritty and look horrendous, compared to a pink healthy placenta. The risks for miscarriage are much higher, it's honestly not worth it.
Stopping can be hard, but as a pp said...it's mostly mind over matter, and this from an ex smoker myself.

Good luck!

[Ellieboolou27]

I smoked through both my pregnancies, going from 20 a day to around 3 or 4 a day once I found out was pregnant. not proud, not something that I told anyone either as I did it in secret.
Many will come on to say they gave up as soon as they found out so it can be done.
Good luck op

[TheresABluebirdOnMyShoulder]

I quit the second I found out I was pregnant and never looked back. Had tried to quit dozens of times in the past and not managed it so I know how hard it is, but just didn't feel like I had an option, smoking whilst pregnant was not something I was prepared to do so I had to stop. Simple as that. You are about to have a lifetime of making sacrifices for your child and putting them first - might as well start now! You'll feel amazing for having done it.

[HalfPintPixie]

I had to wear patches to control my detox rage- nobody believed me how irrationally angry I would be until I tried to quit- then my husband told me to have a few puffs before I killed us both. Got patches and managed to quit smoking cigarettes within 3-5 days of finding out I was pregnant. I found a good guided meditation app that helped, especially in the evenings to take my mind off the cravings.
Knowing that your actions will affect someone other than yourself is a powerful incentive. I did have a few cigarettes over the course of my pregnancy, but I felt so selfish and horrible and weak that it was enough to keep me from lapsing any more often.

Congratulations on cutting down so much already! You've already made a huge difference, you should be proud of yourself. Wish you the best of luck quitting!

[Babyblues14]

thank you pixie, have tried the patches in the past but my skin gets very red and itchy when I use them and the gum makes me sick. I just want to be able to stop but not get in the terrible moods on top of the hormones aswell. I'm two months pregnant now

[kel1234]

I stopped the minute I found out I was pregnant, but then again I was only really a social smoker, with the exception of an odd few now and then when I was fed up. I didn't miss smoking when I was pregnant.
My mum smoked through all 3 of her pregnancies though

[HalfPintPixie]

Ellieboolou27 I'm ashamed to say that anytime I did have a cigarette when I was pregnant, it was done in secret and I never told anyone because I didn't want them to think I was a terrible person.
It made me wonder though how many others did smoke now and then and felt that they could never admit it to anyone.

[kathrynelizabeth3005]

I used to smoke around 10 a day and stopped cold turkey when I found out I was pregnant. I'd tried a number of times in the past to give up but as soon as I thought about the baby I managed albeit with great difficulty, to kick the cravings. It is really difficult and a lot of my work friends smoke so it was hard in terms of breaking the habit of going out with them for a break.

You have my sympathies and support because it really is so hard to give up and the fact that you have cut down shows how strong you already are!!

Have you asked advice from the midwife or anything? NHS do stopping smoking services which although I've never used them I bet they are helpful!

Have you also thought about getting an e-cigarette? I was already using one before I got pregnant as I was attempting (unsuccessfully!!) to quit. There aren't many studies yet into the effect of them on pregnancy/growing babies but my midwife said if I was struggling, the e cig is better than the real thing.

Good luck OP!

[Wadingthroughsoup]

I was going to mention ecigs too. Not ideal I'm sure, but presumably better than fags. They didn't exist when I was pregnant, unfortunately.

I stopped smoking more or less straight away when I knew I was pregnant, but I didn't find it easy (and was faintly irritated by people who assumed it would be easy or a 'no-brainer' because of the pregnancy). My nicotine addiction didn't care that I was pregnant!

In my first pregnancy, I managed to stop cold turkey (and 'coped' by just crying and sleeping a lot for the first few weeks). In my second pregnancy, I used nicotine patches for the first couple of weeks.

Good luck OP.

[Lunalovepud]

Baby if you make up your mind to stop you will stop. I quit overnight years ago and didn't have the extra incentive of being pregnant.

My mate smoked through her pregnancy "only a couple a day" and her baby was born with a really low birth weight and was a tiny little sickly thing for months. I'm sure you don't want that for your baby.

Please stop now. It's easier than you think and a couple of days of mood swings and discomfort is nothing compared to ensuring your baby's health.

[hopsalong]

Good luck OP. How is your morning sickness? I stopped smoking (with massive difficulty and many failures) a couple of years before my first pregnancy, so didn't have to face this problem -- but many sympathies.

I do remember thinking that it was about the only thing my morning sickness (moderate with #1, quite severe with #2) would have been good for! Tried many psychological tricks to convince myself smoking was disgusting / smelly etc but none worked: I think pregnancy nausea might have.

Maybe worth thinking about the fact that you're ALSO doing this for you, and have an amazing chance to restart now as a non-smoker. The statistics on women restarting smoking after pregnancy are very depressing -- although the fetus is obviously more vulnerable than a baby, it's much better to avoid a whole childhood of passive smoking (which I had).

Can you really try to focus on yourself as a long-term non-smoker, who has kicked the addiction for good, rather than as someone who is being 'good' temporarily for someone else's sake? Alan Carr definitely worth a read. For me it did take completely reconceptualising myself as a non-smoking person to give up for good -- before that I was successful at quitting for short periods (few weeks to a couple of months) because I 'should' but could never keep it up in face of crisis/ temptation.

[Sweets101]

I quit completely for 1, smoked a little for others (I mean tiny rallies. I had a smoking midwife for DC2 she took my carbon monoxide readings they were low, but I did make them very small and would light, hold and extinguish. Only 2 a day 3 max)

The easiest thing I found though (by far) was cold turkey with number 1. Evry time I got a craving and didn’t smoke I then got a high that i'd done it and that was another 1 down. Google cravings, you only have so many a day and they only last so long. Time them, once the 3 mins is up you know you've done it. It's another one gone, plus another crave pathway in your brain a bit diminished. Every time you smoke it wakes them all back up and sets off the craving cycle.
Google cold turkey websites I found them really helpful.

[Sweets101]

Rollies not rallies

[Orangebird69]

I've vaped for 4 years now. Vaped though my pregnancy. I'm sure someone will come along soon and tell me how selfish and irresponsible I am but I had a trouble free pregnancy, and 15mo ds is absolutely perfect and well. Good luck x

[Elkalv]

I would recommend the book easy way to quit smoking, I quit and never regretted or started again. Though I wasn't pregnant at the time. It's not magic it just explains how addiction plays with your brain.

[notanothernamechangebabes]

Another reason to stop which I don't think anyone mentioned is the increased risk of SIDS in houses where there are smokers. You also wouldn't be able to cosleep if you wanted to. Stopping smoking will be excellent practice for all the times when the.m baby's here, that you want to do something, but can't! (Go for a wee when baby has just fallen asleep on you, finish your dinner in peace etc etc )

[Bellatrixandstrange]

Before I took a test I knew I was pregnant because lighting up made me violently sick. There was no will power involved during my first trimester anything remotely unhealthy made me vomit so much I ended up vomiting blood. Now in my third trimester the smell of cigarettes still makes me very sick. About the only good thing about hyperemisis. I smoked 20 a day before pregnancy. Good luck op. Keep trying and you will make it.

[harrietm87]

My mum smoked while pregnant with me and my siblings. We were all low birth weights and have had various respiratory problems. She smoked like a train from age 16 and even seeing her smoker mother die of lung cancer aged 60 didn't stop her, until last year at 62 she had a massive heart attack caused by smoking and finally accepted she needed to stop. She went cold turkey and hasn't had one since she was admitted to hospital. So it can be done but you need immense willpower. You can do this for your baby.

[MinnieNoush]

Just adding again after reading all the new comments. I really do suggest you go cold Turkey, every day you continue to smoke you are harming your baby. Like others have said a few days of terrible mood swings is nothing in comparison to the guilt you will feel if you have a baby with health problems.

Also want to say, I hope you don't feel like people are judging or being mean, we all just want the best for you and your baby and i think most of these comments are from ex smokers so we really do understand how hard quitting is, but you have the best reason in the world now.

Pick up your pack of cigs and rip them up now. It's the first step to giving your baby the best start in life!!

[Lunalovepud]

One thing I found useful when quitting was replacing cigs with something... Cup of tea, chewing gum (not nicotine) or sucking a lolly etc. Nearly seven years later it left me with a tea guzzling habit but that's much better than smoking! Make today the day you stop! Good luck.

[Laura05]

Don't shoot me but I smoked whilst pregnant with DS. I had actually quit and was using e-cigs but while I was pg they used to make me boak and so I ended up back of the cigarettes.

Not all smoking mothers end up with low birth weight babies who end up with respiratory problems! My son was 7lbs 8oz and is now a very healthy 2yo with absolutely no medical problems!

I booked in with a smoking sensation (sp?) midwife who gave me different smoking aids to try but I didn't take to any of them and due to stress etc she said it was actually more dangerous to me and baby to quit. I had cut down to only a few a day so wasn't smoking heavily.

Don't be bullied into quitting if you're not ready. It is a stressful process. I've found that doctors and midwives are more accepting of smoking mothers than they used to be. Just to add yes I felt guilty but I'm not ashamed to say I smoked throughout, even with the stigma and backlash you get!

[Bluebellevergreen]

I quit 8 years ago, so long before I got pregnant. I was a smoker for 10.
For me the only thing that worked was thinking over and over how awful it was for me and others.
Then I found another addiction to replace it, I started knitting.

I found that if you manage a week and then you have a cigarrette it tastes disgusting which is why I think cold turkey is best (particularly since you are pregnant)

It wont be easy and you might dream of smoking buy it can be done and you have gone from 20 to 5 already.

Write down a few mottos for when you want one:

• I want clean air for my baby
  
• I will feel better every day that goes by
  
• I can do this
  
• If I still want one in an hour I will have it
  
• Picture that when you are putting a cigarrette to your mouth you are actually putting it into a baby's mouth
  
• visualise yourself smoking free. Honestly it changed my life
  

You dont develop physical dependency until I think 10 years which is when I quit.

You can do this.

YOU CAN DO THIS OP!