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.

But it is not the babys choice, which is why the society have a duty to help protect babies. Even before they are born.
A woman who is chosing to harm her baby whilst still in the womb should be held as accountable as a woman who is harming her baby after it is born.

A woman who smokes or snorts cocain without being pregnant is exercising her right to do with her body as she pleases. She should not have that right in pregnancy, as she is making choices that affetcs somebody else, who have no voice, who cannot reason or make a choice.

scaryscarynight - on that basis, if the babies rights are more important than the mother's, should we force a 14year old who got pregnant through rape to have her baby because, the babies right to live is more important. i know lets take babies away from mothers who smoke, or bottlefeed or, drink alcohol, or eat junk food. that'd be best for the babies i'm sure.

Lulumama I dont agreee, for this reason: It is not in the childs best interst to be born to a mother who does not want it. A woman can still have a choice to abort. But she should not have the right to inflict serious harm, and possible death to another person, her child.

Women fought very very hard for the right to abuse their bodies? Cobblers!

I think it's time women started taking responsibility when they are pregnant and stop fannying about.

Smoking when pg shouldn't be banned but I think it's pretty pathetic not to be able to stop when one could be actively damaging a child.

It is not feminist to be think you are able to keep smoking and taking charlie during pregnancy! It is destructive and irresponsible. Certainly absolutely nothing to do with feminism.

That argument is a huge red herring and I resent it being used when we're talking about the rights of unborn children - and before you start, I'm not anti abortion either.

I just think people need to get a grip and stop whining.

"But it is not the babys choice, which is why the society have a duty to help protect babies. Even before they are born. "

er no. that's why abortion is legal. it's not a baby - it's a potential baby, unable to survive independantly. the mother's rights over her own body should always superseed the rights of a potential human being.

Beautifuldays, I am not against abortion. I am against deliberately harming an unborn child through substance abuse and nicotine.

so then scaryscarynight - should we remove babies from mothers who bottlefeed, because that increases the risk of cot death too?

BeautifuldaysI disagree. The pregnant woman has made a choice to continue her pregnancy. Having said that, she should not subject her unborn child to toxic substances such as those found in cigarettes. It's almost as if you're saying the child doesn't exist until it's born. That's simplistic and non sensical.

Message withdrawn

but it is illegal to abort a child after 24w, because that foetus is a baby, that could conceivably survive outside the womb, yet it is ok to continue to smoke/drink/abuse yours and your baby's body anyway you see after that point

but scary, what if the woman does not know she is pregnant? and carries on having periods? or has a coil, no periods and therefore does not know she is pregnant.. should she be prosecuted for causing the harm..? where would you draw the line

even being outside can be dangerous, breathing in exhaust fumes

taking a paracetomal for a bad headache

where would it end?

you cannot safely say the unborn's rights supersedes the mothers in some areas , and not in others, it has to be all or nothing, so it has to be that the rights of the living are higher.

Message withdrawn

it does exist, it just doesn't have more rights than the mother.

so what about mothers who smoke after their babies are born, they're exposing them to chemical too. does that make them bad mothers? and if you bottlefeed your baby you're exposing them to all sorts of chemicals and crap too. both are known to increase the risk of SIDS. i guess that makes most of the british population bad mothers.

no-one should subject their child to toxic substances in utero, that is a given.. but prosecuting?

what would a suitable punishment be?

a fine? women very often are in precarious financial situations when pregant, due to mat.leave and loss of income

imprisonment? prison not a good place for a pregnant woman to be, and what if she already has children

the stigma of it would be huge

the key is

education

more help for women

less branding of women as pariahs for this sort of thing, so they are not too ashamed to seek help

beautifuldays, it is nonsense to mix bottlefeeding into this debate. There is no research saying that 9 out of 10 babies who die from cotdeath have died due to formula milk. Not in Europe at least.

It is as much nonsense as me telling you that my mum gave me cowsmilk diluted with water and advocate this as a feeding alternative.

It depends on how you view the foetus/baby, I suppose. Until it exits it's mother's body and takes it's first breath it is a part of her body. She has command over her body for good or not. That shouldn't be taken away from her. Once the baby separates, it becomes an individual in it's own right with all that comes with that.

The world is turning seriously pear-shaped when I agree so much with Xenia on a thread...
Why not ban smoking outright for everybody? Surely that would be an even more justifiedhealth policy -- oh yeah, we worked out that prohibition doesn't work, didn't we?

why is it nonsense to bring bottlefeeding into the debate? it is known to increase the risk of SIDS, so women who bottlefeed are doing so knowing that their baby will have a higher risk of cot death, in hte same way that pregnant women who smoke know their baby will have a higher risk of cot death.

only difference is that a hell of a lot more people bottlefeed, than smoke when pregnant, so it's harder to persecute them cos they're a bigger group.

i should have stated earlier that i dont think that it should be illegal for pregnant women to smoke. i would like smoking to be illegal, but i cant see it happening in our lifetime. what i am arguing is the moral obligation that a mother has to her baby. not to knowingly expose it to poisonous substances, and to accept that she is not the most important person anymore.

oh and if smoking was banned completely, the nhs would go broke. smokers pay billions of pounds in tax. much more than their addictions cost the nhs.

even if the legal system doesnt agree

beautifuldays.. some women bottlefeed, not through choice, but due to lack of BF support, and other issues. so to say that is as wilfully harming as smoking is wrong IMO

A woman who does not know she is pregnant is not deliberately harming her unborn child.

Edication will have to be the key.

A human being is less important than a potential human being?

yes, but the harm is the same, whether doen knowingly or unknowingly

but yes, education rather than punitive measures are the key

and not treating pregnant women like some sub class