Just found out I'm pg with DC2 and currently smoking - please scare me into stopping

[JustTryEverything]

I gave up without too much difficulty in pg1 but slowly started again when I returned to work. Got back to pretty much 'full on' smoking (not when around DS though) and have just found out I am pg again. Please can you all give me a kick up the arse to stop NOW. Fear is a huge motivator so as many scare stories, facts and figures as possible please.

I'm sure you already know all the facts and figures, and all the reasons you shouldn't be smoking, whether pregnant or not, but particularly when pregnant.

You don't need to ask a load of MNers to tell you the bleeding obvious.

Visit the miscarriage forum and read some of the posts of women suffering. And then consider how you would feel if same happened to you and it was possibly caused by something you did.

(Wouldn't normally be so harsh but you did ask....)

Forester I think that was a bit unfair. Miscarriage is rarely 'caused' by anything! As someone who miscarried (and quit smoking as soon as I got BFP) this is very hurtful to suggest that it was something I did wrong.

When especially I went through everything I did thinking it was something I did, I was told if it was going to happen it would happen no matter what I did/didn't do.

well just suddenly stopping if you're a heavy smoker can be enough to induce a miscarriage so it's moot really.

OP get yourself to a chemist and start the stop smoking thing most run. Or get to a shop and buy an e-cig. Or if you want to stop totally I would recommend the spray.. you're terrified to smoke after a blast of one of those things.

It's not fear you need, OP. It's boredom. Smoking is a huge pain in the arse. It brings nothing good to your life at all, and makes you look slovenly and out of control. Put your fag out and don't light another one. I did just that 15 years ago when it finally dawned on me that smoking was a mug's game. And because I'm not a mug, I jacked it in.

Work out how much it costs you. Write it down for a day, month, year, 5, 10 years and write down everything you want to do with your children. Work out what you can't do if you still have to pay for cigarettes. Are you prepared to miss Disneyland / new bike / extra maternity leave for a cigarette?

I'm working as a maternity nurse. I have seem small babies die as a result of their mothers smoking. They were just to small to live. If the mothers had stopped smoking the babies would prob be alive now. The mums are always heart broken and say "what did I do wrong" and I feel like saying "you smoked, you selfish cow". normally the husband leave the women as they can't forgive them.
Its the wrist thing in the world - having your dead baby handed toyou so you can say goodbye.
Social service get involved and any future babies you have will be watched closely, in some cases have been taken away.
Have a think about all I've said.

Get an ecig. Their good. Im on one the now.

And I must say. Smoking doesnt cause miscarriage, theres many contributory factors. If us health professionals knew the cause, then noone would have miscarriages so often

I stopped smoking both my pgs with great difficulty. And being a midwife that made me feel even more guilt and shame.

Go visit ur midwife or gp and ask for help, thats what we're here for

Best of luck xx

I'd recommend finding a good, local hypnotherapist who specialises in smoking cessation. They will probably be able to see you very soon and it's the most stress-free way to stop. The cost is unlikely to be more than a month's supply of cigarettes.
Congratulations and good luck!

i ashamedly smoked through my pregnancies and ds was born with a floppy larynx, he sounded like a hedgehog, his breathing was really rattly and he would sound awful, it sorted itself out without the need for surgery as the majority of cases do & it was not related to me smoking, however the feeling that i had done this to him by being so selfish was unbearable! i felt absolutely terrible, too little too late but i no longer smoke & hopefully will not ever again, Good luck with giving up! There is so much help out there for this you have a great chance! :)

Imagine your beautiful baby with a cigarette in it's mouth, smoke poisoning it's pure little lungs. That's what you'd basically be doing if you smoke when pregnant. Just stop. You did it the first time, you can do it again.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/pages/smoking-pregnant.aspx

Trust me you don't want your baby to go into special care. You can't pick them up when you want to have a cuddle , you cannot be there all the time . Intensive care is not fun for anybody , so do what you can do to stop smoking.

From NHS website:

When you smoke, you breathe in over 4,000 chemicals from the cigarette. The smoke goes from your lungs, into your bloodstream and that blood flows to your placenta and umbilical cord, right into your babys body. This causes your baby to struggle for oxygen and their tiny heart to beat even faster. The chemicals from the cigarette smoke also stop essential nutrients from reaching your baby. This affects:

your babys heart, making it work harder
your babys growth rate
the development of your babys brain

Effects on your babys health

If you smoke during pregnancy, your baby:

is at increased risk of stillbirth
is more likely to be born early (prematurely; before week 37 of the pregnancy), which can cause feeding, breathing and health problems
wont cope as well with any birth complications
is more likely to be born underweight. On average, babies of smokers are 200g (8oz) lighter than other babies. A low birth weight adds to the risks of stillbirth, and makes your baby weaker and at greater risk of disease with a higher risk of hearing loss, learning difficulties and sight problems as well as cerebral palsy
is more likely to have a problem keeping warm
is at increased risk of cot death
is more likely to get infections as a child, such as inflammation of the middle ear, and have health conditions that require hospital treatment, such as asthma
is more likely to smoke when theyre older

Low birth weight in babies is also linked to problems that develop as an adult, such as:

coronary heart disease: when your hearts blood supply is blocked
type 2 diabetes: a condition caused by too much glucose in the blood

Effects on your health

If you smoke during pregnancy:

youre more likely to have morning sickness
youre more likely to have complications during the pregnancy for example, an ectopic pregnancy (when a fertilised egg implants itself outside the womb)
your risk of miscarriage and having a stillbirth is increased
your risk of a premature birth is increased
youre at increased risk of placental abruption (when the placenta detaches from your womb before your baby is born), which is dangerous for both you and your baby
Smoking also increases your risk of:

cancer: nine out of ten cases of lung cancer are caused by smoking
heart disease: smokers are twice as likely to have a heart attack than people who have never smoked

I did the same as MrsDeVere, picture your baby inhaling all the crap you're putting into your lungs and spluttering, it works.

Forester There is no medical evidence to show that smoking causes miscarriages, just a soft link between the smoker vs non-smoker group. Obviously she should stop if she can, but I would be careful with that kind of thing.

OP as others have said, you know that you should stop if you can. I think it's just willpower. I went from 30 a day to zero after a nasty cancer scare. It was really horrid for a couple of weeks but it is possible. Just have a last ciggie, really enjoy it, book yourself a couple of weeks away from temptation (cancel nights out etc if booze makes you crave one) and settle in for a horrid couple of weeks with a very proud feeling at the end of it.

Don't enjoy that last fag - just stop. You would not knowingly hurt your child once born, why do it when pregnant as you can't physically see the effects. I'm not a smoker so I can't appreciate the addiction but if anything would make me stop, this would. You would not forgive yourself if something went wrong.