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.

kittywitch, why the ?
just say it, dear, never mind the passive aggression. you'll feel better.

thanks edam - was just wondering about the formula feeding/cot death link myself. there are lots of things mothers and mothers to be should do for the health of their baby - stop smoking and drinking, breastfeed exclusively till 6 months etc etc but they are reccomendations. you can give people all the information, but at the end of the day you have to let them make their own decisions.

I think it's been known amongst researchers for some time that there is a link between smoking in pregnancy and cot death (after all this is a meta-analysis, not a new study) but I don't think it's particularly well-known amongst the general public, so it's definitely worth publicising. I think people know very well that postnatal exposure to smoke is a risk factor, but not so much prenatal. I think that's all you can do though, really, publicise it and attempt to educate. Banning is clearly impossible.

Probably going back on the discussion, i always let me emotions take over before I type. My post earlier was a bit harsh i know but i do feel that something should be done to encourage pregnant people to stop smoking and parents who smoke in their homes around their children.
We all know its wrong and that its bad for our children's health - that should be enough to stop parents.
The other point was someone said that we should not be telling pregnant people what to do. I admit that everyone feels they have some important info to tell a pregnant woman and I remember that winding me up but the smoking issue is a whole other case. It is bad and they should not be doing it full stop. What else is there to understand. Its not your right to smoke it your unborn child's right to not have to smoke.

Personally I feel ALL smoking should be banned.

I dont smoke, I used to be a "social smoker" so not smoking when pregnant was not an issue for me.

DH was a smoker, but we came to an agreement - he got rid of his very dangerous motorbike before I got pregnant, and he stopped smoking by the second scan, otherwise I'd find out the sex of the baby (which he didn't want to know).

Smoking is a dangerous habit to have, but rakes in a lot of money for the government so I think I total ban would not be in their favour. I dont think that it is fair to go down a route where certain social groups are penalised for something - ie council tennants cant smoke in their own homes, pregnant women not being able to smoke etc, must fairer (and going to be better for the bloody NHS) to stop smoking altogether.

ELF sings to herself "I'm a thread killer"!

Yes, there are all sorts of recommendations for healthy babies and not everyone does every one of them.

I don't think it's possible to legislate about this, but I do think that women themselves should do more to stop smoking during pregnancy.

I don't think it's fair to compare this study with feeding a baby formula though. I'm not aware that there's research that says nine out of ten babies who died of cot death were formula-fed. If there is and you can point me to it, I'll comment further and rant at length about bf support and formula manufacturers pulling wool over eyes again, if you like?

No such luck, Elf

Aitch 'twas meant to denote sarcasm.
And nope, can't find any passive aggressive shite in there either.

So you're saying Aitch was rude?

Why not just say that then?

not read the whole thread but:

i smoked 20 a day, working in a bar/restaurant where everyone smoked, especially the staff and still managed to give up as soon as i saw that little blue line. if you want to quit you will, simple as that. and if having a cigarette is more important at that moment than your baby, or you think you can beat the odds, then thats your lookout, but dont blame addiction.

this is not aimed at anyone in particular btw, just a random rant.

'cos it's called being sarcastic (thunk)

I don't think that's true lissie. I think I'm right in saying that psychologists now believe that personal 'indices' of addiction differ - that is to say, some people simply find it easier to give up things to which they are addicted than do others. Some people give up relatively easily, some people find it hellishly difficult or impossible, and most people fall somewhere between the two. I'm glad that you found it relatively easy to stop when you needed to - as did I - but it's not fair to issue a blanket condemnation of others who possibly are not so lucky in terms of their brain chemistry, or to imply that they do not care about their babies.

i didnt necessarily mean to imply that they dont care about their babies, however i do know that there are times when all you want/can think about is that cigarette.

I agree there are levels of addiction so some find it easier than others. I sympathise with those that struggle, but those that don't even try . It is selfish, pure and simple, putting their needs above those of their unborn child.

But perhaps one person is simply prepared to cope with cravings to a greater extent than another?

I gave up. It was very hard, but I did it.

My SIL didn't.

She didn't even try, but told her health professionals that she was trying.

And she was dealt with sympathetically.

I agree with Joash, this link between smoking/SIDS has been around for many years but I suspect until now it has not been politically correct to say so. I recall seeing a documentary about SIDS, back in the 80's, where it was noted that the majority of babies who died came from smoking households but no one actually posited that as a cause.

Banning smoking won't work, we need only look at the Prohibition to see that. So really, education, education, education is the only answer.

exactly, if you try to give up and struggle then i sympathise, but some people dont even try, and they use the line: "its just too hard" as an excuse. i found it very difficult to give up. especially at work, the only breaks you get are cigarette breaks. your cigarette breaks are social things and everyone sat around with a coffee before service/after service and a cigarette. it was torture but every time that craving arose i would think of my precious new baby.

maybe i was just lucky, but no reason for other people not to be.

I hate hate hate it when PG women smoke and always feel like removing the ciggy from their mouths, but ultimately its their choice.

Waht is bugging me right now as a non smoker though, is that several people I know seem to think its OK to smoke over me (all aware of pg)- one woman at Uni told me thats she been banned from smoking everywhere she wants to smoke inddors, if she wants to smoke in my face outside then so be it (I dont mean palces I anmove away- supervising DS1 at his Sn sports club etc)

I agree that more education is vital.

But surely no-one nowadays can claim that they don't know that smoking has detrimental effects?

My MIL says that there was no evidence of the harm smoking does, when she started smoking (late 1950's).

And she says that she is hooked now, so there is no point in trying to give up.

No they shouldn't be banned, they should be made aware of the risks.

Nor should they be blamed either. There are still a lot of unknowns about the causes of cot death.

The evidence is fairly clear that smoking is a factor, though.

Thewy shouldn't be blamed for cot death- there are a lot of women who smoke and don't lose a child, it's got to be more complicated than that 9although sure t doesn't help)- however I'm quite happy to blame them for smoking. ddictive or not, there's a point at which someone chooses to be a smoker- thats the bit I (and presumably amny non smokers) don't get. It's not as if I didn't have peer pressure, my best mate smoked, but.... well I don't understand why some people do and some don't.

Probably the in the same way that some people can have the occassional glass of wine and some people become alcoholic. Everyone is different and different things affect them in different ways.

It has something to do with dopamine receptors I think

Also, it has to do with what you see around you as you grow up - children whose mother smokes, for example, are much more likely to be smokers themselves.