controlling women during pregnancy

[Rollon2012]

I've heard a few comments over the years about the hole teetotal during pregnancy thing is not about healthy babies but used to control women.

I wondered straight away , do feminists share this view?
im on the fence generally , although I went cold turkey smoking wise (threw my fags in the bin on the way out of the surgery after getting results) never smoked since and didn't drink at all.

Or is it an excuse the pg women who dont have the willpower to abstain for drinking for 9 months to make themselves feel better??

just wondering what your views on this, (I appreciate it may be a sensitive subject)

No Rollon, no one was rude till you said you personally wouldn't serve alcohol or cigs to a pg woman. You are entitled to your opinion, naturally, in fact most people would definitely agree with you BUT you are not entitled to impose your standards on anyone else. No matter what. That's the crux.

And I can't make it clearer than that, either.

This is gir btw gone back to my old name.

No again, Rollon.
It's not your 'dislike' of pg women smoking that people are picking up on.
But YOU said you'd 'use your discretion' to stop serving pg woman cigs. People are wondering how far you'd take your 'discretion'. Or maybe not you, but some other self appointed arbitrator, who might think tying teenage girls to beds in fair enough. Or maybe they'd picket abortion clinics and stop people going in. IT CAN'T BE SOMEONE ELSES' DECISION, that's the whole point.

For what ever my penny is woth. I do think a lot of the hysteria over drinking and smoking is a control thing. Otherwise it wouldn't be as hysterical.

To be frank abortion is legalised in this country so we have decided that women should have that level of choice. Therefore what ever women chose to eat or drink should be entirely up to them too.

The problem is its a visible choice (as opposed to abortion) so people can comment and judge.

whats to like ? seriously smoking is very harmful to a non pg but your only harming yourself, to effctively poision an unborn child relentlessly out of choice is imo unforgivable there is a line to draw that is one.

its not on par with not allowing abortion, agree to disagree but some posters have made soe ridiculous over reactions, I;ve never gone up to a pg woman smoking so its quite obvious I dont feel its my place to 'control' but I can judge.

I'm going by what you actually said, about refusing to serve a pg woman alcohol or cigs, and 'using your discretion'.
To me it's 'quite obvious' what you meant by that, that you think YOU should decide on behalf of someone else, which is controlling. If you wish to withdraw that, do, but don't pretend you didn't say it.
Whatever your personal feelings on smoking - tbh they don't matter to anyone else, judge away to your hearts content, but it's not your place to interfere in any way.
Nobody has made ridiculous overreactions. People have questioned where it could lead, if OTHER people had control over pg women. Like they did in the past, and like some people think should be the case now.

I didn't pretend I didn't say it I wouldn't cigs especially to a pg woman , would you serve cigs to a baby? no

the way the phrased it didnt appear that way some actually retracted a ridiculous statement and then went to reiterate it ..again!

there has tbh been some hysteria where a simple I dont agree would suffice.

You wanted the feminist perspective though. Which is generally that a woman retains full control and makes her own decisions over HER body, and that others should not dictate what she may and may not do. (I guess you might have exceptions where mental illness is involved though......)

Your opiniion is that if it was up to YOU, you would actively prevent women from exercises their choices - which is a anti-feminist POV.

I suppose it is

theres a lot of PC on here how many women would on seeing a pregnant woman puffing away not judge?

How many times....JUDGE away. It's not nice but if it makes you happy, knock yourself out. But don't INTERFERE. That's the feminist POV - it's quite simple.

No, I think many woman would judge a PG woman smoking - that is not the issue. It is whether anyone should have the right to STOP her doing it if she wants to.

No-on should have the right to dictate any form of intervention - and nor do they. Whether or not we should see the right to smoke whilst pregnancy as a cause for celebration is another issue.

no it's not Maisie - who's 'celebrating ' it?

The phrase "the right to smoke whilst pregnant" even shifts the debate to a point where it is recognised that for pregnant women this is a right and that there may be a debate over whether this right should be withdrawn.

The language thus demonstrates that women who are pregnant are thought of as different entities to women who are not pregnant, and that as a result of their pregnancy it may be appropriate to cutail their rights.

curtail soz

Soft cheese gets up my nose

Not literally

But the effects of listeria can be catastrophic for the foetus so on that basis women of childbearing age should be banned by law from eating philly

If I see a pregnant woman eating a greek salad I tear it from her grasp and stamp on it
I'm surprised she can't feel the baby wriggling with fear as the fetid feta slips down
If it turns out she's just fat not pregnant well tough, you can't be too careful

I hope you don't work in my tesco SQ. I haven't lost the baby weight & I love Philly (related?) and I'd hate for you to take it upon yourself to refuse it to me.

x posts!

I will do as I see fit, SinicalSal.

Not drinking or smoking is common sense. Prehaps a more serious issue is the failure to treat serious medical conditions in the pregnant woman.

For example denying proper pain relief when a pregnant woman is in unbelievable pain. Treat pain a pregnant woman is hard, but not impossible, but my GP refused to refer me to the pain clinic when I had horrendous SPD. His opinon was that I was going to be in pain for only 11 weeks and should lump it. I found the lack of humanity towards me horrendous. Similarly pregnant women with serious mental health problems are often refused drugs.

Prehaps the important thing is a balance between the needs of the mother and the baby.

that's awful, reallytired.

I did get harassed by a man in a bar once. I was smoking a cigarette and he came over and said 'Do you think you should be doing that in your condition?'

But I wasn't actually pregnant. I am chubby and have poor posture. I took great glee in his absolute mortification and used the opportunity to tell him that what women did with their bodies wasn't any of his business anyway, and he bought me a drink by way of apology .

I have had the same SGB. It is very yet made me [hangry]

rollon Have you any idea how damaging it can be to deny a woman drugs that she is addicted to, and how potentially harmful that can be to her unborn baby.

Research suggests that cutting down cigs during pregnancy is advisable but completely stopping can be more harmful due to the toxic clearout and increase in stress hormones, but you obviously aren't aware of that, not should you be. You job isn't to research those issues or advise on them, certainly it isn't to enforce them.

Incidently smoking cessation IS a feminist issue. Men are more than three times as likely to be able to give up smoking than women. The reasons that the reseach shows is to do with sense of empowerment and achievement. Men believe they can, whereas women can feel dependent and powerless.

Probably not as harmful as bombarding a growing feotus with carbon monoxide and denying it of oxygen , if an expectant mother can't see that it would become clear shes not fit to make that decision herself and someone should at least try to intervene.