Smoking while pregnant?

[Charleney]

I unfortunately am a smoker, and im finding it very hard to give up.
Is this common for smokers and does it really affect the baby if you do smoke??

I've never smoked but I can understand just how hard it is to give up smoking.

However, I can't for one minute understand how you've been told different things by different doctors and midwifes? I can't for one minute think that a medical professional actually advocated smoking in pregnancy?!

You may be "only 22" but surely you must know that (a) smoking is bad for you and (b) smoking is bad for the baby. It's something that must go without saying surely?

Best of luck in giving up though.

I used to smoke but had given up by the time I got pregnant. I really know how hard it is to quit.

I'm afraid it does affect the baby, yes. There is loads of support out there to help you quit so do speak to your midwife about it asap - from my experience the medical profession is encouraging and supportive of anyone who wants to stop smoking.

I'm not going to bang on about how important it is to quit as there are plenty of others who have done that on here already.

Good luck giving up. I don't see that you have any other option though. Just because you want a cigarette doesn't justify risking miscarriage, low birth weight, still birth, breathing problems for your child and cot death. Still want that fag????

Daisystone.. dont fucking patronise me.
You dont know my situation on getting pregnant so dont judge.]

thankyou.

If you can't do cold turkey, try to cut down as much as possible, and ask your other half not to smoke in front of you. It's his baby too, if he wants to support you through the pregnancy it's the least he can do!

Good luck.

I forgot to say that my mother smoked heavily throughout her pregnancies. As a child I had loads of ear infections and spent a lot of time at the local ENT clinic and my sister now has an inhaler.

The saddest thing of all is that my mum died from emphysema caused by smoking and never knew the joys of being a grandparent.

charleyney don't take it personally. The general opinion on smoking in PG is that it's a very bad thing to do. For alot of people, myself included, it's incomprehensible how you could risk your unborn baby for a cigarette. Just as for you, you find it hard to give up. It's a differance of opinion that holds some very strong emotions. I don't think anyone here is patronising you and it doesn't warrant your abusive language.... You need to understand the dangers of smoking to understand the depth of emotion. Everyone has differant stories... I miscarried our first baby and was devastated. The thought of doing something so indulgent as smoking for my sake with no thought to my child would be unthinkable. I'm guessing your situation is very differant. People are trying to help... Please don't get upset with them. Good luck with your PG and hope giving up is easy for you.

Bunbaker you could be talking about my mother, although she is just about still with us. She smoked all through pregnancy, I had astma as a child and ear infections the likes of which I wouldn't wish on any child. I missed a lot of school and screamed with pain sometimes. She now has emphysema and is still smoking and she won't see her eldest grandchild into his teens.

Charleyney
doesn't really matter how or why you got pregnant. Once you decided to keep it you decided to become responsible for growing a person. Poor me stuff doesn't cut it once you become a parent. You now come second. If you don't stop, you may carry the burden of hurting your child for the rest of your life. You could even lose your child. That is the greatest fear for most parents and smoking makes it much, much more likely. Just stop. Physical addiction wanes after 3 days or so, it's no big deal, I promise. I'm not talking bullshit, I've done it myself.

i gave up the minute i got bfp, it was hard for the first week but then morning sickness came and i gagged everytime i smelt cigarette smoke so that kind of put me off wanting one. Now that m/s has eased i love the smell of a freshly lit fag, however if you have seen the advert of a pregnant woman, with a picture of an unborn baby sitting in a swirl of inhaled smoke inside her then that should in all reality put you off too. I know that every time i smell a cigarette i think of that picture, the power of advertising has never been more commanding than that one.

Charleney I really dont think anyone is trying to patronise you.

Yes it is bad for you and Yes I do believe everyone out there would know that it is bad for you, read the boxes and look at the pic (they freak me out!) and as a pregnant woman everything you eat, drink or breath your baby does as well.

I also have many less than favourable habits that now need to stop in pregnancy and so far I have found that the docs and nurses have been really helpful so I hope you find the same support.

Remember that even just one less a day on the journey to giving up will help and I really mean it when I say GOOD LUCK

Like everyone else says, there is lots of help out there but you have to do it in your way.

I (reluctantly ) gave up the day I found out I was pregnant and my DH still smokes (though outside and no where near me obviously). I did use one of those inhalator things for a few days just to get through my particular bad times such as being stuck in traffic! But honestly in the end it wasnt as bad as I thought, and I barely think about it now, its like I've forgotten I ever smoked. I am well aware not everyone finds it this easy (though I was 20 a day ish a smoker for 10 years) and not trying to show off, just to give you a bit of hope that you CAN succeed. I found the hardest thing was distracting myself - MN is BRILLIANT for that!

Get all the help, advice and support you can and remember that being a smoker doesnt make you a bad person. And congratulations

Am 34+2 by the way.

It's up to you if you carry on smoking. It's your baby that will be damaged by it, no one else's. You do know the risks, everyone does. You obviously have the internet, so Google it if you feel uninformed. You will get a lot of support to help quit, and it IS possible

Just remember what a previous poster said: 'Can you imagine going through pregnancy, giving birth then losing your baby overnight because you were too lame to stop smoking?' This is your responsibility and no one else's.

Just want to second what Bunbaker said. By the time I was your age I'd lost both my parents to smoking-related diseases and frankly it's crap. Stupidly, this did not stop me from smoking myself but I gave up the second I found out I was pregnant, not just because of the health risks to my baby but because I couldn't bear the thought of him losing me before he was grown up just because I was too silly to give up such a stupid habit. Give up now and encourage your baby's dad to do the same. Once you get past the initial awful few weeks you'll never regret it.

Charleney - all the best of luck with giving up. Congratulations on becoming a mum to be!

If at any time you feel the overwhelming need for a fag - just imagine putting one to your tiny baby's lips. Doesn't make for a pretty picture does it, but that's effectively what would be happening...

Good luck with it!

Aside from the smoking issue, Daisystone doesn't know the circumstances of Charleney so to say "you shouldn't have got have got pregnant if you still feel like a young girl yourself" and "you need to grow up a little" is totally patronising (and judging) IMO.

The fact Charleney has come on here asking the question in the first place shows she cares, and that she doesn't feel comfortable with smoking during pg, so a bit of support would be good. Like I said, nobody knows Charleney's circumstances so all anyone can do is point out the positives of giving up smoking while pg and Charleney can make up her own mind knowing there's support at hand.

Charleney I gave up smoking while pg, I found it very difficult and wrestled with myself at first even though I know the risks. I did manage it though. For me it was reading a [totally unsubstantiated and unreferenced I might add] comment in a post that said something like "smoking during pg lcan cause autism in the baby" . I don't know why this hit home but it was enough to get me to stop right there and then. Hopefully you will find your personal "that's it, I'm stopping" moment of clarity and strength. Or maybe you will do it gradually but certainly, in a different way.

Get all the help and advice that's out there, don't think you can't do it (you can!) and Good Luck x

I think it takes a lot of guts to come out and say, even anonymously, I'm pregnant and I'm a smoker. Use that courage and that strength to help you give up! You can do it!! XX

Giving up smoking could be the single best thing you do in pregnancy, far beyond eating healthily or taking vitamins.

Quitting is hard, really hard. Nicotine is an incredibly addictive substance. However you have a brilliant reason to quit now.

Have a look here for why smoking in pregnancy is harmful and for further resources.

You can use Nicotine Replacement Therapy in pregnancy, speak to your GP, midwife or practice nurse.

You can do it! Your baby is more important than cigarettes.

Arent the risks now printed on the packs? I think its probably harder to find the mumsnet pregnancy section than it is to find advice telling you its a bad idea.

Even googling 'smoking pregnancy' brings up NHS: SMOKING HARMS YOUR BABY.

I suggest reading a bit more

<a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=farm4.static.flickr.com/3017/2966809697_92b7752540_z.jpg&imgrefurl=www.flickr.com/photos/annabananabobaloo/2966809697/&usg=__VrTFoFLNNdGnVBoKFTBlTnIL-Jc=&h=427&w=640&sz=125&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=ws1rnip8ZsHk7M:&tbnh=120&tbnw=160&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsmoking%2Bwhen%2Bpregnant%2Bharms%2Byour%2Bbaby%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1230%26bih%3D533%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=390&ei=8FmNTOakJ8qBswaK_aToAQ&oei=8FmNTOakJ8qBswaK_aToAQ&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:0&tx=109&ty=68" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">see...

I smoked while PG

Before I was PG, I smoked A Lot.

I tried to give up and I was going half mental. My midwife agreed it would be worse for me to go on NRT, and we set a limit of 5 low lo low fags per day (ie Silk Cut extra low)

And my same midwife agreed it ok to have a glass of wine a day

My DC is just fine and dandy

hotbox I don't think your comments are that helpful. I don't mean to be rude, just being honest. Alot of smokers use that line of I smoked and I never got cancer/child was never ill. Smoking is no guarantee that miscarriage or stillbirth or low birth weight etc WILL happen but you increase your chances massively of it happening. I don't think someone struggling to give up needs any extra excuses why it's ok to smoke "because I know someone who smoked and their baby was fine" . This may not have been what you meant but that's how it came across. I get a little exasperated at how some smokers try and justify it. It's not ok to smoke when your pregnant. Fact. It's not about the mothers needs... Your inflicting your smoke on a tiny tiny baby that has no choice in the matter. PG is not a time to take risks but a time to get real and not put yourself first. And no... I'm not a smoker. But before I got PG, I'm now 33 weeks, I drank most days. I love a glass of wine. But I've not even had a sip since I got PG. it's not about what I want. Sorry to rant!

Odd how you don't want to face reality.

You obviously DO need to grow up. At 22 I didn't need to be told that smoking was unhealthy for myself or for an unborn child.

I smoked at 22 even though I knew the risks associated with it. However I wasn't pregnant and was under no illusion that it was something one shouldn't do whilst pregnant.

My point is that you are playing dumb when we all know that smoking kills whether we choose to ignore it or not.

Charleney, if you want to be rude, abusive and immature you go right ahead, but it won't change anything. If you don't want to hear the truth from all angles then don't ask for advice.

I was not patronising you, simply telling it like it is. Why should I sugar coat it for you?

As other posters have pointed out, all you have to do is look at the warnings and images on a pack of cigarettes to know.

Honestly, telling me to fuck off because you don't like what you hear is pathetic.

Well, you know it's bad for YOU so it cannot be anything other than bad for baby. Think about it. How can you think any different?

Are you for real?