Tips to avoid breathing in smoke when driving in traffic when pregnant

[K1989]

If someone is pregnant and stuck in traffic and someone is smoking in the car in front and there is no way of getting out of the situation.

Does anyone have any tips on how to reduce the risks in this situation? Would breathing through a cloth help reduce the amount of smoke inhaled.

how can you smell smoke from someone else’s car? Aren’t the fumes from your own car/ the traffic more likely? Close your windows?

Use the recycled air button just before you stop in traffic as it will stop you drawing in fresh air from outside. Depending on the age of your car it may make you sleepy as it's just circulating the air you have already in your car. Also not recommended to use it in winter.

I think this level of anxiety and trying to control things is not healthy. The pollution just walking on the street is probably as dangerous as smoke from a car in front blowing near you. You can’t do anything reasonable about these things other than avoid cities and places where people congregate.

@GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat if you are a non-smoker, the wind is blowing the right way and are very sensitive to smells like in the first trimester, you can clearly smell people in the cars around you smoking in stopped traffic. You also don't need to have your windows open you can just have your cars fans or a/c on drawing in "fresh" air from the surroundings.

Though you are right that you are more at risk from the fumes in the vehicles around you then the smoke you can smell.

What @Hideandgo said

Erm, I am a non smoker, I have been pregnant (more than once!) thanks. Still think it’s a massive overreacting! Breathing through a cloth??!

If the question is smell, then putting something round the nostrils that is still OK and is strong enough to blot out other smells, is the best thing to do. My go-to was tiger balm, and there are small pots available so it's easy to chuck into a handbag, so it is always there whatever and wherever an unbearable smell comes up.

If it is concern about damaging fumes, then I think getting anxiety about this under control is important, car exhaust fumes are hostile to health, but it is hideously difficult to avoid. Even if you switch your engine off, you can't make everyone around you switch theirs off too, and unless the delay is very long, they're not likely too.

I doubt that breathing through a cloth/face mask would make that much difference (as smallest particles will go right through) but every little helps, and some cyclists wear them and swear by the benefits. And they are certainly alarmingly filthy when you take them off.

The pollution from being in the car or walking along a road is probably doing you more harm than smoke from another car!

Oh dear OP, are you normally such an anxious person? What harm is a bit of smoke from the car in front going to do to your baby? PFB?

I know what you mean, when I was pregnant, the slightest whiff of cigarette smoke would make me actually vomit. And I could smell it car from car. Fun times.

There isn't much you can do. Try not to get too anxious about it, as stress is the think that will do you the most damage...

I have a fair commute on busy congested motorways. I let fresh air into the car until I get a couple of miles from the motorway then close window and put it on air recycle with air con until I get to work. Have done this since before I was pregnant as the traffic is so bad. Got to say the traffic pollution would bother me a lot more than the odd person breathing smoke out of a window.

@GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat - I was referring to cigarette smoke, not car fumes or smoke.

It often happens if the person on front is smoking out of there window. Whilst in the winter i would keep my Windows closed. In the hot summer, sometimes it can become unbearably hot in my car as I do not have air con, so sometimes it feels unavoidable to keep the windows closed it on traffic for a long period of time.

@Bluebug45 - thank you for the suggestion. My car is 6 years old.

Close your window?

@Hideandgo - I realise my anxiety is not healthy and you cannot control everything. I'm not yet pregnant but planning to try in the not too distant future.

I suffer from severe tokophobia and this is partly why I feel anxious about certain aspects of pregnancy and in particular reducing risk as much as possible. I'm trying to find ways to overcome this prior to trying to conceive.

@GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat - I agree with you that it's an overreaction. However I have tokophobia, so what may seem normal to everyone else, is a huge deal for me to get my head round. I'm trying to work on this prior to becoming pregnant.

Honestly if you're not even pregnant and you're worrying about things to this extent, I'd access some sort of therapy before even thinking about it.

^^ What @EstrellaDamn said

@feral - No I'm not normally an anxious person for the most part.

However I do have severe tokophobia and not yet pregnant although we are planning to start trying. I'd like to overcome this prior to trying etc

@feral - I've read so much about how harmful passive smoking can be. I wanted to try avoid it as much as possible in the future.

@EstrellaDamn - I'm one step ahead of you there. I've already been to my GP and waiting to hear back on a referral for CBT.

@TheMonkeyMummy - thank you for your advice

@Farahilda - this is anxiety related. Thank you for your advice.

@eurochick - I realise that but anxiety has got the better of me at the moment and is not logical.

@Catinboots9 - see reply above