Should pregnant women be banned from smoking in light of new research?

[hunkermunker]

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"Nine out of 10 mothers whose babies suffered cot death smoked during pregnancy, according to a scientific study to be published this week. The study, thought to be one of the most authoritative to date on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), says women who smoke during pregnancy are four times more likely than non-smokers to see their child fall victim to cot death."

Personally, I find it very, very hard to understand why anybody smokes while knowingly pregnant. And yes, I know it's addictive. I speak as an ex-smoker, not somebody who has no idea what it's like to have a love affair with the evil weed.

Oh I agree with you (I think we are furiously agreeing ) but what you are describing IS educating people! You're not suggesting that the midwives etc physically prevent the mothers from smoking, are you (are you?!)

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we are born with volition and free will, result being we engage in activities that are not always good/beneficial/sensible eg alcohol/smoking/diet/exercise/lifestyle. and we have developed psychological coping strategies eg cognitive dissonance and/or denial

endo of day no person can be compelled to act in a healthy beneficial manner.

the info and support is available, but the outcome is determined by individual willingness to succeed/achieve stated outcome

a lot of money is spent on health promotion and this does not necessarily correlate to changing outcomes. Statistically peer is more likely to change behaviour's than govt/health literature

Oh yes, I agree (again)

Lapland - wow! How cool! Check out this place, good winter stuff.

By blazingsandals on Sun 14-Oct-07 22:58:15

"Let's be realistic - society is not exactly kind to single mums period. If you live where I live and attend a country GP practice which is very much predominantly middle class white people, you will probably find the level of information and support provided when pregnant is better than an overcrowded, inner city surgery where a single mum struggles to get an appointment let alone advice."

I am not sure how long ago you lived in the latter area, but my doctors is smack bang in the middle of a rough area, often in the news for one reason or another. I live on the outskirts of this area, and most of the mothers are welfare. in the doctors, as soon as they know you are pregnant, you go in for the booking appointment, and you get all sorts of tests (including chalmidia!) and you are asked if you smoke. If you say no, you still get a lecture about the dangers of smoking. If you say yes, you are assigned somebody to help you smoking, you get all the leaflets for all the areas that help quit smoking.

I am not sure whether this helps - tbh, most of the women I knew who smoked through their pregnancies were well-educated, professional types. Not sure how that figures!

GP practices have to demonstrate money staff identified for key govt targets inc smoking, healthy pg. so misnomer to assume the information and support is not there it is - people need to engage/chose to follow given advice/support. sure start areas also have identified targets to meet too.

mums of all classes smoke

Agree mums of all class smoke, but IME it has mostly been those higher up the social scale who have continue to smoke! Which goes against the grain that welfare/single mums dont care (which is what something thought was being pointed out oodles of posts down)

ah but essentially this is all anecdotal we can all contribute and say "i have seen many poor/affluent/home owning/dog loving/tomato ketchup eating pg mums smoke etc

the support is available, well publicised too.
up to the individual to want to stop

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I think much more support should be available.

I was a smoker - 40+ a day, until I found out I was pregnant. I stopped right then and stayed off it for about a year. I felt very proud of myself. I had stopped for my baby (whoopie for me). I was very critical of people who didn't.

Then came all manner of stresses and strains and problems. I fell off the smoky wagon I stopped and started, stopped and started, had the odd one (secretly) partway through pregnancy with ds2 and became one of those women I had sneered at and silently judged as being Unfit. I stopped again for years, started again (secretly), stopped again apart from once a week at my mothers house, and now I haven't even done that since May. But I still want to.

So I know how powerful the evil weed is. It consumes you. Even now, I find myself with the strongest cravings..I could rip someone's head off for a fag at times!

That's the reality of it. It is a powerful powerful addiction.

OF COURSE, everyone knows that you should not inflict smoke on your unborn baby, OF COURSE everyone knows that there's no difference between smoking yourself when you are pregnant and blowing smoke directly into your newborn's lungs.

Smokers know they totally 100% should NOT smoke and should NOT inflict their smoke on their children. You don't need people in your face telling you that. The guilt is horrible. The guilt of not being able to stay away, even for the sake of your baby. For that moment, your need for a fix of nicotine is greater than your need to shield your baby from the harmful effects of cigarattes. Nothing anyone else says or does can make you feel more shitty than you do when you know that about yourself.

That physical addiction is hell on earth to break and you need support not judgement. The moment people start on you, saying how awful what you are doing is (which it is and you know it is) you get defensive (this is the nature of addiction) and are less likely to get help to stop. Everyone must have all the information and easy access to free replacement gum/patches, groups, 1:1 etc. in a supportive not judgemental way.

I think phrases like "fag police" are borderline here.......

Doodle, the "how cool" pun was unintentional

MTPW - genuine question;

what made you return to smoking having given up for so long?

was there nothing that put you off lighting up that first one ie the fact that it tastes foul, it makes you feel sick, it makes you half choke, it stinks etc?

at a younger age I can understand the perseverance through these disgusting side effects - you have to be like everyone else.

The prospect of putting a cigarette in my mouth again and lighting it revolts me.

im sorry, but why shouldn't they feel guilty? if you know what harm you are doing to your baby and continue why shouldn't you be held accountable? is "I'm addicted" a good enough reason to carry on? should we say "oh, well if you're addicted and the craving is too strong then carry on because it's not your fault". and i also still have that craving for a cigarette, and times when i would sell my soul for one. but having had several miscarriages and still ttc-ing i would do ANYTHING to reduce the risk to any unborn child i might have.

Once an addict, always an addict. Extreme stresses made me reach for it again.

I think because I stay away for my children's sake and because my husband HATES it, rather than because I want to not smoke anymore, makes me very vulnerable to slipping back when something really bad happens.

You see, I LIKE smoking.

I enjoy it.

However, I fight it because I do not want to inflict it on my kids (although like I've described, I have failed at times) and because my husband is, well, he's basically forbidden it and I think he'd leave me and take my kids if I started again.

But IF I could smoke and not harm the kids and keep my husband - I would....and this is despite the fact that I am badly asthmatic and it kept putting me in hospital.

So I choose my kids and my husband and I don't smoke.

But bloody hell, I wish I could.

Is that to me, Lissie? I didn't say they shouldn't feel guilty. I said they do feel guilty and nothing anyone else says could make them feel worse than they do already and I made the point that non-judgemental support will help more quit, since smokers get defensive when you have a go over their smoking and are less likely to try to quit if you're attacking rather than supporting them, iyswim.

Smoking is a shitty thing to do to your kids, Lissie, I know that, which is why I work so hard to stay away from it, for their sakes. I just know how truly hard that can be.

it wasnt really aimed at you M2PW, it was more at all the people who have justified smoking while pg because they are addicted/cant/dont want to quit. i do know how tough it is. there were times when i would have chewed my left arm off (while pg) for a smoke. i am also a recovering anorexic and in times of stress/pressure starve myself (as some people smoke) but when i am pg i dont. because that baby is more important than my need to "exercise my free will"

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From what you've written m2pw, you find it harder than maybe many others, I did and still do depserately want a cigarette at times, but the smell/taste is enough to put me off if I ever come close.

The fact that you did quit for your children/dh shows that it is possible, and surely mroe people should try?? It's bad enough trying half-heartedly and saying 'oh, but I'm addicted' but some people don't try at all and just give it the whole 'oh, it's alright' etc that aren't even trying to do the best for their baby and that sucks.

I, for one, am not saying it isn't hard, it is, of course it is, but nowhere near as hard as having to live with the guilt if your child happens to be one of the unlucky ones

thank you.

as has been said many times, no-one is actually calling for pg women to be banned from smoking, but with the proper help and support it IS possible to quit, but only if you want to

fags, fruitshoots, turkey twizzlers,red bull, McDonalds......where to draw the line?

anyone trying to quit - contact GP, Local PCT, NHS direct(for support, classes, 1:1 etc). the products are Free on prescription

good luck

I agree with Lissie

I thought that i would post here now that the furore and venom has subsided a little.

'Research' is a strange remarkable tool, with a strong relationship to statistics!.

If you want a certain answer, then you phrase your questions accordingly.

The study, produced by Bristol University's Institute of Child Life and Health, is based on analysis of the evidence of 21 international studies on smoking and cot death.

Now had the studies been based on say, formula feeding! you may have had similar figures, as with studies on..

Low birth weight
Lower socio-economic groups
Babies born in winter months.
SIDS which occured in winter months.
Babies with a history of recent Upper Respiratory Infections.
Male babies
Pre-term babies
Babies who had not been 'checked' for longish periods in the night.

The above have all been associated with SIDS, ie deaths are more likely to occur where these factors are present.

It is not very long ago that early weaning was recommended, and I'm sure the experts at that time did their research to support it, but we now have different research!

I would encourage all mums and pregnant ladies to do everything they can to ensure a healthy pregnacy and ultimately a healthy mum and baby.

Please do not castigate mothers whose choices are different to yours.

Some research can turn round and bite you later.

I am not suggesting that we all start smoking.

My heart goes out to any parent who has suffered the death of a child and I would take no pleasure whatsoever in intimating that they were in any way responsible.

Good post NNT. I too have read somewhere about babies born in the winter months being slightly more susceptible to SIDS but that doesn't mean that mothers who choose (hahaha) to have babies in winter should be blamed...