Smoking while pregnant

[Eimz]

I am really beating myself up about the smoking. I am currently 18weeks pregnant and smoker , since I found out I was pregnant I have really cut back a lot. I do not smoke a full cigarette I ask my partner or friends for a couple of drags.. all day in work I don't smoke it's just when I'm home. Does anyone know how truly harmful this is for the baby? I know people who smoked during pregnancy a lot more then me.. I know I cant justify my smoking but I really am only taking pulls and then literally downing a gallon of water to try make myself feel better :(
I've loads going on I've failed my driving test and an exam I was doing and my partner is between jobs and my mam is fighting with me and sometimes I just need the odd drag or two too calm me down

www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/maternalinfanthealth/substance-abuse/e-cigarettes-pregnancy.htm

Quiting vaping while pregnant is a NIGHTMARE. But unfortunately Its undeniable the impact on pregnancy. Even the use of nicotine alternatives aren't any better as it's the nicotine itself that's toxic to a unborn baby.

This is rubbish, please ignore it OP.

It's hard to quit but I feel like you've missed the boat, to be honest. I've quit twice (currently pregnant at the minute) from e cigs during both pregnancies by week 8 (so within 2 weeks of knowing I was pregnant). You need to use morning sickness to your advantage alongside knowing the risks to baby. At 18 weeks, I think it's highly unlikely you'll quit now.

Honestly, the only way you'll quit now is banning cigs from your house. Bin any that you have left. If you don't buy any you can't smoke them. Use an e cig with 6ml nicotine for a week then move to a 0 nicotine one. Then off it completely.

It takes will power but ultimately you know it's bad for baby. You need to quit. Or at least move onto e cigs which are "less bad". It's all well and good having excuses to why you need them, but it isn't real. Nobody needs to smoke.

Also, you need to sort out all the drama in your life before baby comes. It sounds like a very unhealthy place to bring a child into.

The truth is all you can do is just stop doing it, there not going to be a magic switch that makes it easy or less painful, just stop doing it

Your partner needs to stop smoking too. For several reasons:

1. To help you stop, if he's not smoking you'll be less tempted and you'll be in it together
2. Because when a parent smokes (whether it's the mother and/or the father) it increases the SIDS risk for the baby.

He is going to be a parent too, none of you should be inhaling cigarette smoke or even second hand smoke from his breath or clothes or whatever.

Can we do this on a different thread, LittleDragonGirl? I can bang on for hours about the bullshit research that is coming out of the US and the WHO and the battles UK Public Health are having with their political agendas but this is a support thread for a smoker who is pregnant and trying to quit.

Suggesting that NRT is as harmful as smoking in pregnancy is absolutely shocking, there is no evidence to support this and plenty of evidence against your assertion. Please stop.

@PencilsInSpace

NICTINE is dangerous in pregnancy.

The reason Ecigarettes have not been deemed dangerous is due to them being relatively new and therefore there isnt enough data to same definitively.

But there is enough data about the risk of NICOTINE while pregnant. Unfortunately I've had to do literature reviews on the risk of nicotine during pregnancy regardless where it comes from, and it's not safe. Yes there are safer forms due to removing the carcinogens if you dont smoke cigarettes, but that dosent remove the dangers of nicotine. You are deluded if you dont think nicotine is dangerous during pregnancy.

I quit smoking 7 years ago when I was pregnant. I switched to nicotine gum when I found out, which I gradually reduced and quit altogether around 20 weeks.

PPs are correct in saying that nicotine is harmful BUT it's not just the nicotine that is harmful and by quitting and using nicotine replacement you are exposing the baby to a lot less of the toxins than you would if you were smoking. So ignore the crap about NRT being not better because it most certainly is (although not ideal!).

I found that the biggest thing for me was breaking the actual habit rather than the addiction so I wouldn't recommend vaping for that reason, you'd just be switching from one crutch to another. If you really want to quit, ask your MW to refer you to a smoking cessation clinic. There are special groups for pregnant women too so lots of options and support available.

Good luck and congratulations on your pregnancy

I smoked at least 20 a day before I found out I was pregnant. When I found out I quit cold turkey because I could choose to smoke, my baby couldn’t. I could not have lived with myself if she was damaged by my selfish behaviour.

I don’t buy the ‘I’m trying really hard’ bullshit. It’s not hard, it’s a question of priority.

Every time you take a pull, you make it a little bit harder for yourself to say no to the next one.

@PepePig .. what do you mean sort out all the drama in my life? The fact I didn't pass my driving test or a exam I studied for? Or I'm having an argument with my mam? Which drama do I have to sort out?

End of the day it's an addiction, and if it was easy to quit, everyone would! Surely??? The important thing is you're doing what you can to quit and you're prioritising baby's health.

Your midwife can offer you help and support, and if your family/ friends can't stop lighting up around you clear out whilst they finish to try and cut temptation.

I only know of one person who smoked when pregnant (and there could be a million other reasons why it happened but...) baby was born 6 weeks early weighing just 4lbs.

Good luck quitting, hope you can manage it xx

I really don't understand people who come on just to state smoking during pregnancy is selfish etc, what help is that?! Some people ought to realise they're not obliged to comment on every thread they see

It's hard to quit but I feel like you've missed the boat, to be honest.

Please be assured that you haven't missed the boat OP. It's never too late to quit smoking for your own health or your child's health. In fact the biggest risk of all is if you are still smoking when they are young teens and they follow your example. They will then have the same risks you do - 50% chance of an early death.

Having worked with mothers, families and carers who have to deal with the results of smoking while pregnant. I am always so dumbfounded that people still do it.
Your vulnerable, unborn baby is being damaged. They didn't ask for that to happen....... sudden infant death, lung/heart/liver disease, all sorts of things will long term damage YOUR baby for what?? A drag of a disgusting cigarette.

@Floralblankets exactly my reasoning! I wish we could do some kind of private message on here and then we could all support OP. It's such a shame people are judging when OP just wants some support

Thanks everyone 🥰 I appreciate your help. I don't but cigarettes and I haven't since I found out I was pregnant but everyone in my house does- partner, brother and the guy renting a room from us.
My partner won't stop smoking he really won't, I've asked and he won't. Only recently did I get him to stop smoking in the house. I'm currently demolishing a bag of Bon bons, hopefully the sweets help.

OP, good for you for trying your best.
Start vaping instead of smoking and see the midwife to get a referral to stop smoking clinic.
Persuade your partner to stop with you ...
every reduction you make is a help but aim to stop.
It is very hard but I'm afraid it needs to happen. I agree with the distraction suggestions( snacks!!)

Oh I agree that NRT is better if it's used as a method to quit @BellatrixLestat and is better in the removal of the extra chemicals that come directly from smoking.

@PencilsInSpace But if NRT is used continuously throughout pregancy it still possesses risk to the baby, and suggesting it as a better alternative for continuous use for the duration of the pregnancy is still endangering the baby.

Suggesting the use of replacing one nicotine product with another as a long term solution for the entire pregnancy is not protecting anyone from harm and giving false promises of prevention of the dangers of nicotine. And is hugely unfair.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2656811/

www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/maternalinfanthealth/substance-abuse/e-cigarettes-pregnancy.htm

women.smokefree.gov/pregnancy-motherhood/quitting-while-pregnant/myths-about-smoking-pregnancy

@Eimz good luck my lovely. Don't let the negative comments stop you from trying your very best. That's all you can do x

If the possibility of harming your child isn’t enough to make you stop smoking is then nothing is.

Buy ** not but

Separate issue but your DP is an arse IMO. DH didn't want to quit until I showed him the research on second hand smoke and SIDS etc.

It's your choice to smoke or not and the risks are well known I'm sure you could Google them, but no amount of water will counteract smoking, do you think it does?

"My partner won't stop smoking he really won't, I've asked and he won't. Only recently did I get him to stop smoking in the house."

Well he's a selfish dickhead then.

Have your brother and lodger stopped smoking in the house?

Do you own or rent the house and whose name is it in?