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Original poster

if you think its ok to have a glass of wine a week in pregnancy is it ok to have a cigarette a week?

249 replies

Beatrixemerald · 03/03/2015 19:28

Just asking opinions, not sure what mine is really as was teetotal for years pre pregnancy so didn't need to think about it, but I was a smoker until I found out I was pregnant.
I just wonder if we are as a society far more tolerant of drinking vs smoking and this translates through to pregnancy as nhs advice seems to be to avoid both.

OP posts:
PrettyFeet · 03/03/2015 23:09

well actually its just slightly less rude thinking about it. I dont actually "bold" anything.

Jessica147 · 03/03/2015 23:11

Maybe I'm reading it wrong oddfodd, but that seems to say that foetuses in three of the five groups had negative results when compared to the other two groups. That suggests that the moderate and evenly spread group didn't perform significantly worse than the zero alcohol group.

MiddleAgedandConfused · 03/03/2015 23:17

If you want to smoke when pregnant, I'm guessing you will. But it may be better to have two half cigarettes rather than one whole one as the resulting concentrations of toxins will be lower. Just a thought.

Primafacie · 03/03/2015 23:19

There are plenty of other things that damage a baby in the womb like intermarriage or stress.

Sorry but I need to know, what is intermarriage?

OddFodd · 03/03/2015 23:21

Sorry yes I think it says that too. So the only groups where performance was 'worse' was in mothers who drank a lot - either all the time or indulged in regular bingeing.

I was just pointing out that the research doesn't show that a couple of units a week has a negative effect. Which is what I think the itv headline said

PrettyFeet · 03/03/2015 23:23

Can you stop bolding that!

I will however answer you Grin

Inter means (where Im concerned)

Babies produced by other members of the family, ie. a cousin etc.

Lots are born with very major genetic deformities due to them being passed on.

PrettyFeet · 03/03/2015 23:24

a couple of fags or a drink or two doesnt do any harm is what it all boils down to doesnt it. Common sense prevails.

PrettyFeet · 03/03/2015 23:26

This is very common in some cultures.

Lovemycatsandkids · 03/03/2015 23:26

missDuke are you American?

Everything in moderation!

PlentyOfPubeGardens · 03/03/2015 23:26

are your children "damaged" by it?

Not as far as I can tell. DS did however start smoking himself in his teens. I didn't set a great example.

Or are you very guilt ridden?

Yes, I felt shit about being a pregnant smoker and terrified of the harm I might be doing. That didn't help me quit, it made it more difficult. I've been on MN for over 4 years but it's only in the last few months that I have 'owned up' to smoking during PG. It's quite a scary thing to do because of the flack that smokers get on here but it's important because there are lots of women who are desperate to stop smoking in PG but who find it really hard. MN should be a place that supports and helps them and it won't be if it's too scary for them to admit it in the first place.

There are plenty of other things that damage a baby in the womb like intermarriage or stress.

Yes, I agree.

Primafacie · 03/03/2015 23:44

Prettyfeet, if that is what you mean then you are wrong. Consanguinity does not damage the baby 'in the womb'. It does however sometimes lead to genetic disorders. There is a difference between congenital and genetic issues.

Re the bold thing - you are wrong. It means nothing on MN, so get over it.

Lovemycatsandkids · 03/03/2015 23:58

plenty my oldest ds smoked and now vapours.

I never smoked though did have a glass of wine.

My Oder dss like a glass.

So kill me. And they are all fine. Grin

Gennz · 04/03/2015 03:38

I know loads of people who could stop at a cigarette a week, myself included. I have been an on and off smoker for years, at the heaviest when I was at university I might have been 5 or 6 a day. DH is the same. We usually might buy some to share in a situation where we might be getting a bit boozy (my tipping point is my third large glass of wine - I suppose that's when my judgement is sufficiently couded for a ciggy to seem like a really good idea) and it's annoying to be that social smoker who scrounges off the committed smokers at a party, especially when they are so expensive.

When I was pregnant it didn't even occur to me to smoke! I wouldn't have anyway, but I never felt like it, I was sick & after all I was never hitting the booze tipping point! I doubt that one a week, if that is genuinely what you had, would do much harm. It would feel pretty gross & irresponsible though, definitely more so than booze, I don't think there's any reason to abstain from the occasional glass of wine in pregnancy.

PetrovaFossil1 · 04/03/2015 03:59

I've just had a look at the full source article for the study quoted. It only looked at 38 women - hardly statistically significant!
Not to mention correlation does not equal causation...

FindoGask · 04/03/2015 05:25

Speaking as an ex-smoker, and a pretty committed one at that, if you're down to a cig a week I don't see why you couldn't make that last step and knock it on the head completely.

That said, a cigarette a week in pregnancy is obviously hugely better than even a cigarette a day or more usually multiple cigarettes a day, and if that really is the best someone can manage then it's probably no worse toxin/oxygen deprivation wise than living next to a busy road.

nemo81 · 04/03/2015 06:20

I don't smoke and i don't drink, i think they are both equally as bad in pregnancy. 9 months is such a short time to not do either to give a baby the best start. Although i never get why people start smoking again when they've had the baby, you obviously don't need a fag if you haven't had one for 9 months.

MissDuke · 04/03/2015 07:30

lovemycats no I am Irish - do you think that explains my views? Blush

Prettyfeet (deliberately not in bold) it is new to me that anyone is offended by bolding, apologies if I bolded anything you said, I have never heard of it being taken in offence before.

Nemo - some people genuinely like smoking so look forward to starting again, they don't actually want to quit. I think those women are fantastic for stopping during pregnancy, it is so hard.

Original poster
Beatrixemerald · 04/03/2015 07:44

Miss Duke, I was one of those people that expected to start again but havent mostly because I feel like I owe it to dd not to, have had a few puffs on really stressful days though.

OP posts:
Writerwannabe83 · 04/03/2015 07:47

I don't smoke and I find myself feeling uncomfortable when I see a pregnant woman smoking. I work in a hospital and every day there are so many pregnant women outside the maternity entrance in their dressing gowns having cigarettes. I think the smokers that give up whilst pregnant should be proud of themselves for doing something that was probably hard and took a lot of willpower. I suppose the women just weigh the risk up and some see their babies health as the priority and others don't.

I haven't really seen many pregnant women drinking but I don't think I would be offended at all by seeing one having a glass of wine. If a pregnant woman was downing pints though I would be shocked by it and feel somewhat annoyed.

I haven't had an alcoholic drink since May 2013 as this is when me and DH started TTC. I fell pregnant straight away so then didn't drink during pregnancy and I'm still breast feeding at 11m so I won't drink alcohol now either. I was given a glass of wine a few months ago and had 1-2 sips but then I stopped, I wouldn't have felt right drinking it.

I find it odd that I wouldn't be concerned by pregnant or BF'ing mothers having a glass of wine at all yet I can't bring myself to do it Grin I'm guessing that because I've never been a big drinker I find it easy enough to go without.

SuggestmeaUsername · 04/03/2015 09:55

If research is inconclusive regarding effects of alcohol/cigarettes on unborn babies, isn't it better to refrain from these activities to be on the safe side? I would do everything within my control to protect such a beautiful creation and that would mean avoiding substances that I believe would be harmful to my baby such as smoking and drinking. Things like stress may also be harmful but we have less control over eliminating stress in our lives. We can only do our best and use our intelligence and common sense.

youngestisapyscho · 04/03/2015 10:04

I didn't smoke when first pregnant as the smell made me feel ill, but by 5 months, I was craving them so much! I smoked 5 a day from 5/6 months pregnant... with both children. Doctor said it was fine. I had babies that both were over 8lb in weight. I did not breastfeed either of them, I did not let them sleep in bed with me. They are both fit and healthy kids, never been ill besides the odd cold. Research is inconclusive with regards to smoking when pregnant. All that stuff about small and premature babies is not proven as there are just as many born to non-smokers too.

5madthings · 04/03/2015 10:12

I had the occasional fag when preg with Madthing5, i felt crap about it but having stipped smoking for nine years i started again when i was in the psych unit after having madthing4. Post natal psychosis can do crazy things. I was fine when i got preg with Madthing5 but still smoking occasioanlly, afte rdiscussing it with midwife, consultant and my mental health team thye decided staying mentlly well was more important tha stressing out about stopping smoking so yes when i needed to i had a fag. I am not proud of it but hey shit happens. She was and is fine. I never really drank during pregnancy as the smell of alcohol made me heave, had it not done then once past first trimester i would have the odd drink ie for a birthday or celebration etc. I also ate runny eggs etc its about making a risk assesment for me and also even when pregnant i am still a person with bodily autonomy and i will choose what to do, being pregnant does not make me public property, i am a person, not an incubator.

5madthings · 04/03/2015 10:13

Also consultant said he wasnt worired by up to 5 or fags a day, he said heavy smoking was a problem ie low birth weight etc, he even joked that maybe i should smoke given my last baby was 10lb 13oz.

SuggestmeaUsername · 04/03/2015 10:43

I guess people will be happy for their GP, consultant or midwife to say it is okay to smoke or drink to validate them carrying on smoking and drinking and relinquishing them of any responsibility for what they are doing.

being pregnant does not make me public property, i am a person, not an incubator.

You are a person even when you are pregnant but you are now also responsible for the health and well being of another person who is inside you. Carrying on as if you aren't pregnant is selfish and risking the health of the life inside you that you and someone else have created

WhoCaresWhatYouThink · 04/03/2015 16:41

I honestly think its just luck of the draw whether you have a healthy baby or not. I don't think smoking/drinking/ drug taking actually has that much effect.

In my first pregnancy I didn't drink smoke or take drugs. And my baby was born 3 months early and died 2 hours after he was born. I didn't out any toxins in my body yet he still died.

My second pregnancy, I didn't find out till 4 1/2 months and in those 4 months I drank, smoked and took cocaine. I stopped the drink and drugs as soon as I knew I was pregnant, but carried on smoking. And my daughter is now here safe and sound. No harm done, she's perfectly healthy in every single way.

She was a nice healthy weight ( 7lb 4oz ) and was 4 days late.

I'm not saying I think people should smoke/drink/take drugs but in my own experience it didn't do any harm those first few months. ( Remember that I didn't find out until 4 1/2 months )

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