To have had three fags today...

[NoobyNoob]

....at almost 12 weeks pregnant.

I know I'm, being very, very, very unreasonable - I thought it was supposed to be easy to stop when you're expecting? I had no problem doing it the first time round, so why can't I do it now?

I stopped as soon as I found out, however I'm not sure what's happened today.

"But remember that your baby is more likely to suffer from you being stressed about the ocassional fag than you having the occasional fag"

unpaidcarer that is really not true.

Babies can cope just fine with the sort of stress that most of us encounter.

she doesnt need a load of its alright crap

she needs a kick up the backside to make sure this doesnt happen agian.
How will she feel if her baby has breathing difficulties when its born because
she was smoking. No matter how bad she feels without a fag she will feel twice as bad if the baby has problems because of her not smoking.

Thing is, the baby is not that likely to have respiratory problems. It's not guaranteed that smoking will do major lasting damage. It might do, sure, just as smoking might give you lung cancer (indeed, probably will but not definitely, people do have this inconvenient tendency to smoke and live to 99).
Smoking while pregnant isn't terribly good for baby or pregnant woman. But there are shitloads of other risks out there, not all of which are escapable (traffic pollution, mobile phone masts, contamination of cheap food, etc). Particularly the really big risk, which is underfunded, undertrained, overworked maternity care staff.
So while on balance it's better to avoid fags than smoke them - either when pregnanct or just generally - it really ISN'T that big a deal, and everyone who's shitting their pants and screaming on this thread would do better to channel their energies into campaigining for good maternity care rather than joining in with the 'pregnant women are public property' mindset.

Oh my days at some of the comments here. Child abuse? FFS.

OP I gave up smoking 2 days after I found out I was pregnant after smoking for 12 years. I'm now 8 and a bit months smoke free (39+3) Is it hard work and I hope you can give up. Don't beat yourself up if you have a slip day. No-one is perfect we all make mistakes. Hope today is a better day for you :)

Oh well said Spring chicken.
Incidentally, and I know I'll get shot down in flames for this (but I'm too old to care really and my kids are all growed up) I did smoke with all mine.
Not recommending it of course, but in those days it wasn't a big deal like it is now. My lot are all fine, asthma free and healthy as healthy can be.
My daughter stopped wehn she was pregnant and I am very proud that she did too.
Now we know more and the potential risks...

I grew up playing in the street morning noon and night too, come rain or shine, never had mobile phones, computers and so on... and I survived all that an' all. My mum never smoked but my dad did and people smoked all around us.
It was only 3 fags!

BTW OP have you had any since posting this? If not bloody well done you darlin'.

Well done to Springchicken and unpa. I did and continue to smoke when pregnant. DD is 10YO and very healthy.
Pregnant women do become public property and it's wrong IMO.

Research now shows that smoking in pregnancy is more likely to result in your child developing COPD and/or asthma in their 30s, 40s and 50s even if they haven't smoked themselves.

Antenatal smoking is a contributory factor in reduced infant, child and adult ventilatory function. So your child might be ok now but develop respiratory disease in adulthood.

Sidge: Yeah, but it might rain hammers! Respiratory disease can also be caused by traffic pollution and excessive exposure to chemicals (ie living in a house with a fanatical houseworker who bleaches everything and chucks air fresheners around). Smoking isn't very healthy, sure, but it's not the Cause of Absolutely Everything Bad that Ever Happens either.

No you're right of course it isn't.

It's just another thing to consider when discussing smoking in pregnancy. Most people are unaware of the potential long term effects of smoking.

Tobacco smoke plays a far larger part in the development of respiratory disease than environmental pollution and chemicals, and if people choose to smoke then they should be aware of all the potential risks.

It's all about risk assessment and smoking is an avoidable risk.