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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

One in ten smoke in pregnancy

294 replies

SoTheMoon · 18/07/2017 13:16

AIBU to be totally shocked by this?

I honestly thought it was much, much lower. Government target announced today is to get it down to 6%.

OP posts:
Helendee · 18/07/2017 13:18

Not unreasonable at all

Helendee · 18/07/2017 13:18

Not unreasonable at all. It's shvki

Helendee · 18/07/2017 13:19

Excuse my stupid phone!!!! It's shocking in my opinion and nothing short of abuse.

TheSparrowhawk · 18/07/2017 13:19

Given that smoking is legal and addictive I think 10% is amazingly low. It's worth remembering that in the 60s it would have been around 70-80% - they used to give new mothers cigarettes to smoke on the ward!

Mymouthgetsmeintrouble · 18/07/2017 13:19

Unfortunately i am not, i have had a lot of problems this pregnancy and i have up to 3 appointments at maternity a week the number of women smoking outside the entrance is shocking

ChopinLisztFinder · 18/07/2017 13:20

Honestly, I thought it would be higher.

Ah. I just looked up the stats. 15.3% of all UK women smoked in 2015, so a third of those manage to quit immediately when they find out they are pregnant.

What do they count as smoking? Daily smoking or 1 cigarette in the whole pregnancy?

BusterTheBulldog · 18/07/2017 13:23

I can't believe it's as low as that to be honest, would have thought more like 25%

Frillyhorseyknickers · 18/07/2017 13:23

TheSparrowhawk

But given all the information and facts we know about smoking, it's a fairly cut and dry case, surely?

I'm fairly open to the idea that drinking in moderation during pregnancy has not been proven to cause detrimental health issues, same with certain things on the "banned food list".

However, we KNOW that smoking is bad for our health and the health of our unborn children - who on earth can't give up for that?

newbian · 18/07/2017 13:24

I wish I were shocked but I'm not. Nicotine is one of the most addictive drugs out there. You won't just find 10% of pregnant women smoking. Go to a hospital and you'll see people with serious health issues shuffling outside from the ward in their slippers to have a smoke, in the cold and the rain even.

UnaPalomaBlanca · 18/07/2017 13:24

Surprised. I do not know of a single person who has (knowingly) smoked whilst pregnant.

Original poster
SoTheMoon · 18/07/2017 13:25

"But given all the information and facts we know about smoking, it's a fairly cut and dry case, surely?"

That's what I thought. I honestly thought it would be around 1 in a 100.

Interesting how others thought it would be much higher. Clearly I am out of touch with reality on this!

Why so high with all the effort to get people to quite (even when not pregnant?)

OP posts:
newbian · 18/07/2017 13:25

UnaPaloma I was at a party once where a woman who was 7-8 months pregnant spent the entire time (3-4 hours) drinking wine and smoking cigarettes. Said she'd done it her first pregnancy and the baby was fine. Her husband was there and they are both highly educated professionals who absolutely should know better.

WorraLiberty · 18/07/2017 13:26

I'm glad it's so low now compared to when I had my 25yr old.

The maternity wing had a smoking room for the mothers.

YoureNotASausage · 18/07/2017 13:26

I just had my booking in app yesterday for baby #4 and for the first time was asked to blow into a CO2 checker! There were posters EVERYWHERE about smoking in pregnancy so it must be the big new push at the moment to stop smoking in pregnancy.

Mrsemcgregor · 18/07/2017 13:27

It's quite common in a particular area of my town to see women smoking when obviously pregnant.

Even once saw a woman breastfeeding and smoking.

WorraLiberty · 18/07/2017 13:27

Why so high with all the effort to get people to quite (even when not pregnant?)

Because it's an addiction and as we all know, addiction can be very complicated and hard to beat.

Lj8893 · 18/07/2017 13:27

How do they get those figures though? From maternity notes I assume. So it probably is higher than that in reality as I'm sure there will be lots of women who smoke in pregnancy but are not honest about that with thier midwives and caregivers.

Mrsemcgregor · 18/07/2017 13:28

yournotasausage I had to do that when I was pregnant with DS2 as well. I was oddly worried I would fail despite not having smoked since I was 15 behind the sports block at school Grin

FishInAWetSuitAndFlippers · 18/07/2017 13:28

I thought it would be higher.

Most of the pregnant smokers I have known over the years haven't managed to quit, but have cut down.

TheSparrowhawk · 18/07/2017 13:31

'Why so high with all the effort to get people to quit (even when not pregnant?)'

Two reasons: smoking is addictive and people do things that are bad for themselves and their families even when they are told those things are bad.

It's not really a surprise. Look how many people drink too much or drive too fast.

WorraLiberty · 18/07/2017 13:36

There's lots of effort to get women to lose weight before they plan a pregnancy, but despite the possible risks being made clear, that's not going too well either.

Amd724 · 18/07/2017 13:38

Every single midwife appointment I'm asked if I'm drinking or smoking. I'm an asthmatic, I've never smoked in my life. I have hacking cough fits when I walk near smokers. She said, I have to ask because then we'd have to refer you to an addiction specialist. Its the same for drinking. Smoke isn't just bad while you're pregnant, but around children, especially newborns is awful for them.

Also, yesterday at my appointment I was told the NHS guidelines on drinking was due to change to no drinking at all while pregnant. I mentioned I had found alcohol free wine, and she said good and not to touch a single drop of alcohol while pregnant.

ChopinLisztFinder · 18/07/2017 13:40

My SIL is absolutely desperate to have a child, but is a smoker and morbidly obese. Losing weight and quitting smoking would improve her chances of conceiving, but she just can't manage it.

It's hard. I'm sympathetic as I'm an ex smoker who had to try quitting quite a few times before it "stuck", so I know it's not easy. On the other hand, I do think that children deserve to not be poisoned as they are a captive audience with no choice.

I do think that people who can't put the health of their kids first should maybe question whether they should be a parent.

Frillyhorseyknickers · 18/07/2017 13:40

Driving too fast is not comparable to smoking during pregnancy - the risks associated with smoking during pregnancy are measurable and published, driving too fast has zero health risks unless you have an accident.

I was a 20-a-day smoker for almost a decade and before that on a more sociable level and I stopped last October for my own health. It was the most difficult few months of my life and I still miss it. But now, at 30 weeks pregnant, I can't possibly imagine any addiction being stronger than my desire to protect the baby growing inside me.

I cannot resonate why anyone wouldn't give up smoking for the sake of their unborn baby's health.

megletthesecond · 18/07/2017 13:42

Does this include women who smoked until they found out they were pregnant at 4-7 weeks and then stopped?