Smoking all through pregnancy - was it ever acceptable?

[ClayDell]

I was born in 1972

My mum fully admitted that she smoked throughout her pregnancy with me.

i looked at my medical records and I was in a special baby unit for the first month of my life with jaundice

Was smoking throughout pregnancy considered acceptable in 1972?

It's fascinating how in a short space of time things have changed so much. What do we do today that will be so shocking in 50 years from now?

Probably vaping!

Don't be stupid. Health recommendations are based on population level research, not "usually nothing happens" in your tiny sample size. The research shows an association between smoking and:

Orofacial clefts
fetal growth restriction
placenta previa
abruptio placentae
preterm prelabor rupture of membranes
low birth weight
increased perinatal mortality
ectopic pregnancy
decreased maternal thyroid function

I remember lots of smoking as a kid, I was born in 77, my mum never smoked but freely admits to drinking al through her pregnancy with me because apparently my dad 'drove her to it'. 🫠

Also i remember a girl in the year above me had really small ears and said it was because her mum smoked all through her pregnancy. Who knows though!

My mum smoked throughout, I was a smallish baby at birth and also jaundiced, but both of my own babies were too and I never smoked at all.

I remember smoking and ashtrays everywhere was a completely accepted part of life. My parents would smoke round us constantly & in every part of the house. We’d sit watching programmes together with them puffing away. Even smoked in bed. There were regular convos about how they couldn’t get away with not painting the ceiling this year as it was so yellow from the smoke. Ashtrays were washed in the same water as plates & dishes and not a thought given to it. Unbelievably grim in hindsight.

Seems un̈believable now but when I first qualified as a mental health nurse in 1996, the lounge were most patients spent most of their time and ate breakfast and supper in was,the designated smoking area,granted a lot of patients did smoke ,but those that didn't either had to put up with it or sit in a tiny quiet room.

I was born in the early 80s and my mum claims the doctor told her it’d be ‘too stressful’ for her to give up smoking completely, so she ‘cut down’. I was born at 32 weeks and spent several weeks in an incubator.

Absolutely agree with this!

From 1977 to 1987 we were two doors away from a woman who did pretty much everything in life badly. Her husband was away a lot, and she er, ‘entertained’ many local men.

Overall, she had six children in that time. She drank heavily and didn’t hide that. She also smoked all the time. Some of the babies were ill, and all were underweight. It was a terrible thing to witness. Her husband departed at some point, and she then had a string of men turning up, some were very very young men.

She told us that she loved babies. 😞 Also that smoking made the birthing very easy. Unfortunately the kids growing up were short-changed genetically and also financially. Eventually the house was repossessed. Her 18 year old lover helped her strip the house of everything like the boiler, wiring etc, and they even took the front door…

My best friend and I had our first babies in late 1976. We had both previously smoked (although admittedly not much) and we both gave up when we became pregnant. We were aware it was dangerous for the baby and it was also pretty disapproved of to be smoking when pregnant, so there was obviously advice/warnings on offer back then.

I was born 83 mum smoked, I was born 11 weeks early but I don’t think it’s smoking related. She smoked late 80’s with my brother early 90’s with my sister, all born on time normal weights. Said they never told her to stop so she didn’t.

My late grandmother was a chain smoker, but said that she always knew when she was pregnant as the craving for cigarettes disappeared. She always gave birth in a private hospital with an obstetrician and each time had a cigarette with the doctor in the delivery suite straight after the delivery (at the doctor's suggestion)! This was in the 1940s.

@ClayDell

Although pleasant enough perhaps there is no iron in eg Guiness and they have - fairly recently - disclaimed any health benefits. In London at the Margaret Street Blood Donation centre donors could have a Guiness!

Yes - like look at those idiots years ago who used to walk down the street staring into phones.

@olderbutwiser

As you say "everyone smoked" and most smelled foul. DF was in Brompton [Chest] Hospital long ago with TB. He was a total non-smoker but those patients on bed rest were allowed to smoke on the ward in bed.

@MrsDefrost my comment was aimed at your comment. So much changes over the years.

I had my babies in the 80's and you are right, it was frowned upon. The midwives warned about the dangers of damaging your baby.
With one of mine I was admitted for bed rest for a couple of weeks prior to the birth. Other mothers on the ward who weren't allowed out of bed were allowed to smoke in bed. it was really disgusting because it made the whole ward stink

Are there people here who defend a pregnant woman's right to smoke?

I’ve just had a baby and the amount of mothers outside the unit smoking was disturbing. Hugely pregnant mums and ones in nighties post delivery.

Totally - when my sister was born in the 70's they even had smoking in the maternity wards!

It was pretty commonplace during the 80s. My parents smoked during her whole pregnancy with me and in the house during my entire childhood. I had/have severe asthma, it was so bad we had oxygen tanks in the house and they were told so often not to do it. They still did. It’s yet another thing I’ll never forgive them for. But yes, it’s only fairly recently we seem to have taken steps to stop that sort of thing.

I was 9 in 1972 and I can remember my next door neighbour smoking throughout her pregnancy. I don't recall there being any issues with her daughter when she was born though. I can also remember seeing other pregnant women smoking. Nobody thought anything of it back then. By the time I became pregnant just 10 years later in 1982,it was frowned upon, although admittedly nowhere near as much as it is today.

I was 9 in 1972 and I can remember my next door neighbour smoking throughout her pregnancy. I don't recall there being any issues with her daughter when she was born though. I can also remember seeing other pregnant women smoking. Nobody thought anything of it back then. By the time I became pregnant just 10 years later in 1982,it was frowned upon, although admittedly nowhere near as much as it is today.

I defend a pregnant woman's right to smoke, in that I defend bodily autonomy and wouldn't support any legal distinction between what you can do with your body when pregnant versus not. It doesn't mean I think it's a good or moral choice to make. I'm also perfectly fine with making smoking illegal entirely.

People smoked on hospital wards, on buses and the tube, feeding baby (breast, bottle, spoon) and I'm very glad them days are gorn. And in films, someone would take a drag and kiss their sweetheart - boke!