Smoking Advice

L.,

You probably knew you'd get some flack for your situation. However I think it is deplorable to the people who responded in a nasty fashion to you. To the folks who did, she is LOOKING for advice, not to get her butt verbally kicked by a bunch of responses from people who THINK they are just self-righteous. The purpose of this board is for support.

L., you need to quit. You don't need anyone to tell you that. You know it and so does everyone on this message string. At least till the baby is born. You are addicted to one of the most powerful drugs out there, so you also need support. Please email me if you need any.

1 mom found this helpful

Hi L.,
I smoked until I found out I was pregnant. I threw them right in the trash, and prepared myself to do what is right for me and my child. Trust me... if I could go cold turkey like that, anyone can...
If you aren't scared already, I am not sure that anything anyone says here will make a difference. You know the risks to your baby (you are reminded by the surgeon general each time you pick up a pack of cigs). Instead of looking for excuses to quit, focus that energy on preparing yourself to quit altogether. Think of the peace of mind you will have without having to constantly worry about the health of your baby or the constant nagging that nicotine addition causes- physically and emotionally. You can truly enjoy your pregnancy!
Educate yourself about your quit, learn the symptoms of withdrawal, and prepare yourself mentally (which is 3/4 of the battle). If you quit now, the nicotine will actually be out of your body in 72 hours. Read self-help books (I found Alan Carr's The Easy Way to Quit Smoking to be very good), call a quit now program, visit websites and support forums (I liked http://whyquit.com/), or talk to your doctor. I am not going to sugarcoat it- The first couple of weeks are uncomfortable, but after that, it is all downhill from there... I promise. That is why it is important to educate yourself on this. Just give quitting a shot. Take it from someone who has been there....
Best of luck to you and be strong... You CAN do it.

Hi L.,
I'm sorry I can't be of much help. I have 2 kids and smoked with both of them. They were both close to 8 pounds when they were born. The 2 different docs that I had with my kids said as long as I could stay below 10 a day that the babies should be ok. I was also told by my doctor that I could use the patch, or the gum to get off the smokes too. Of course I didn't do either one but I did keep it below 10 a day. I am one of the lucky ones I guess cause my kids are both very healthy.

Hey, don't bite the hand of the messenger. You certainly got all the advice you could ever want. I smoked and still smoke. After thinking about it for decades, i've come to realize that i haven't just smoked as an adult (started at 19ish). i was smoking since the womb. i don't believe the documentary thing because placentas are amazing filters. but my parents were heavy smokers so i 'smoked' since birth. and this is what you need to think about. stressing yourself about this during pregnancy isn't going to help make a better baby. but think about after - her life in a smoker's home. the example you'll set. the fact that she'll probably have some sinus issues, etc. and good luck! my baby was not small nor sickly but she did have sinus issues. she doesn't smoke now because i set such a 'good' example of what not to do. again, good luck.

Dear L.,

See if you can visit the 1lb babies born at Missions in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit). Babies born to smokers are more likely to experience interuterine growth restriction which means they will be born small and sometimes early. The NICU is full of tiny babies and its scary to see all these little ones and to think yours might be one of them. My baby was born very early ( not related to smoking), but having a baby in NICU was a hard experience even though the staff was wonderful. Do anything you can to avoid your baby ending up in the hospital for a long stay. While my son was there a baby was brought in whose mom was a smoker. Her baby was born wieghing less than mine and not breathing. Her baby was born at 36 weeks, mine was born at 32 weeks. I know you love your children so give them every advantage you can! Good luck

Wow - I am going to try to not put forth my opinions too much and just give you some advice. If nothing else, you should cut back significantly - a friend of mine smoked under 3 a day when pregnant with her son and he is severely stunted in growth still at age 10! Not to mention the second-hand smoke you might be imposing on your 2 year old - it is more potent and more dangerous for him and his health. I know you know this and that you want to quit, but wow, it really boggles my mind!
One little bit of my opinion (I cannot help it :) - I would hope your kids are worth more to you than smoking and that your health and longevity are motivation enough to help you become healthier and live longer to watch your kids grow up!
I suffer from infertility - both primary and secondary and it upsets me to think that I cannot get pregnant even though I would take great care of myself and yet others can get pregnant and they might not do everything to give their baby a fighting chance at great health!
Good luck and I pray for the health of your baby!

Congrats on cutting down! I hope this helps even more...

You know how bad smoking is... or you wouldn't subject yourself to this onslaught of advice....

You know you can kick the habit. The nicotine withdrawal is hard, but the hardest is the oral fix. You've got to figure out something else to do with your hands.

Alot of people fear they'll eat too much when they quit... so try these non-eating substitues: putting on chapstick when you need a fix,
learn to knit to keep your hands busy(how about some cute baby blankets!),
paint your fingernails,
rub smelly lotions on your hands,
chew gum (try many different flavors - like teaberry or lavendar - these strange 'old-time' gums will help you keep it all new and not get stuck in a mint-mint-mint rut!
carry a notebook with you and every time you feel you need a cigarette write down positve things (don't write anything about cigarettes) perhaps what your 2 year old is wearing or doing at that moment or how the sun feels on your face, or describe the plot of your favorite tv show - anything to change your mind - get creative.

If nothing else... Please don't smoke in front of your children. By simply going outside - you help clean their air and hopefully never have them start to smoke.

I hope this helps!! Good Luck!! Your children will thank you!

I Know 2 or 3 people who have smoked during prenancy and there babies were really small they also had really bad junduse (spelling?) It also helped me to keep telling myself that this is my habit and it will hurt my baby and that I want to do whats best for him/her

Yes, I have a story for you. My husband works with a man whose wife smoked while prego. Their daughter came out missing a finger and toe on each hand and foot. Just something as "little" as that, but the baby has had surgeries to stretch and try to recreate and add another finger and toe to each. I'm proud of you for wanting to quit. Thats awesome! The even worse part of the story is that after that all happened, she got pregnant again and still didn't quit. Even though they told her her last child was born like that due to her smoking. I wish you the best doll!

L., for the sake of your entire family, STOP SMOKING. Of course it will be difficult. However, you must dig deep in yourself, and find a way. Talk to your doctor, friends, anyone, and get help if necessary.

Hi L. my name is L. too. I am a smoker and I smoked with all 4 of my children. They are all healthy. However I did quit for about a month over the summer. I was not pregnant. I just wanted to quit. Go to Quit smoking on line. It works, It is a ten day online course. Quiting was not hard, it was staying quit and being around other smokers. Of course oneday I will try again, I would like to quit,it is hard, it may sound strange but I veiw smoking like an old friend, they are always there when no one else is. Plus I could not get any of the other people I know to even try. I know that sounds bad, but when almost everyone you know smokes, that makes it hard, and well, new friend and family are hard to come by, and no one held a gun to my head. Good luck try it.

I think you knew when you posted that you were probably going to get some harsh responses. This is one of them.

It is one thing to willingly poison yourself, but how dare you be so selfish that you willingly and knowingly risk the health and the very life of your unborn child?

Do you think the warnings on the side of every pack of cigarettes is there for decoration?

You want to be scared? Just consider what you are doing to your unborn baby -

Just a half a pack a day increased the risk of having a baby with extra, missing or webbed fingers or toes by nearly 30 percent, according to a study in a recent issue of the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

About one out of every nine expectant mothers smokes, according to the March of Dimes. If no pregnant woman smoked, the rate of stillbirths would drop by 11 percent, and newborn deaths would decrease by about 5 percent, according to the March of Dimes. Smoking also increases the risk of preterm birth, a low birth-weight baby and cerebral palsy in the baby.

The researchers found that the more a woman smoked, the greater the likelihood of finger or toe anomalies. Women who smoked more than a pack a day had a 78 percent increased risk of having a baby with deformed toes or fingers, while women who smoked 11 to 20 cigarettes daily had a 38 percent increased risk. Those who smoked 10 or fewer cigarettes a day upped their babies' risk by 29 percent.

"The problems with smoking during pregnancy are increased bleeding, miscarriage, premature deliveries and low birth weight. Babies born to mothers [who are] smokers have higher respiratory illnesses and lower IQs. They also have a higher rate of SIDS. And, now we have evidence that they have up to a 30 percent increase in limb defects.

SO - because you are unwilling or unable to be unselfish and kick the habit for yourself and your child, you are risking finger or toe deformities which could affect everything from walking to writing to peer acceptance, a lower IQ for your child, a higher rate of SIDS (sudden infant death), asthma/allergies and other respiratory illnesses, low birthweight, premature birth, and cerebal palsy.

If your two year old son doesn't have any effects yet from your cigarette smoking while you were pregnant with him, consider yourself and him lucky - though respiratory problems and allergies could become a problem in the next few years. School might also be harder for him if he has any learning disabilties. You might not be so lucky with baby #2.

Think about what you are bringing into your body and putting into your unborn child's body. Look at the ingredient list on your pack of smokes.

I smoked when I was younger - but quit cold turkey (1.5 packs a day) the day I suspected that I might be pregnant. There is absolutely NO excuse for continuing to smoke while pregnant - especially with all of the research that shows how much damage smoking does to your baby! I hope 2008 brings you the strength and wisdom to be selfless and do what is best for yourself and your baby. Please quit - and don't pick the habit up again once you quit. Secondhand smoke does a lot of damage to your growing children, too.

*statistics provided by http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey...

I read an article a LONG time ago that mentioned the slight possibility of a connection between smoking mamas and ADHD. That was enough for me! I must have read that in my first year of teaching. ;)

Best Wishes!

My sister has recently completed the Nursing program at our local community college and is now a registered RN. While she was going through her first or second semester they watched a documentary where a doctor asked a smoking pregnant mom to lite up during an ultrasound to document the effect. As she began to smoke the cigarette the baby's heart rate slowed to a stop and all activity in the womb stoped. It took 5 minutes after she finished the cigarette for activity to begin again in the womb. That is why baby's of smoking mothers tend to have low birth weight, premature birth or even miscarriage or still birth. And if your cigarettes aren't harmful enough to your unborn child keep in mind that being a smoker puts your children at, at least, a 50% chance higher risk of becoming a smoker than if you aren't. And I know that the last thing you want for your precious children is to see them follow in the footsteps of your worst habits, but that is what they always do.

I want you first to know that I have said a prayer for you to have the strength it will take to do what is best for your baby.

I have a friend and my aunt who both had the same terrible situation occur and it was simply because they smoked during pregnancy. When the babies were born they had a very hard time breathing and therefore had to have reperators at home. In my aunt's case, Jesse would wake up in the middle of the night unable to get breath. My aunt would have to rush to get the oxygen mask on him and slowly he would start to get his color back. He was also hospitalized a few times because of this. He is now 8 and has extreme ashma. Needless to say she feels terrible and wishes she could make the decision over again. The doctor has made it very clear to her that this is only due to the smoking she did while pregnant.

My friend had very much the same problem and only smoked like 3-5 cigarettes daily.

Plainly put: It's dangerous and irresponsible. Again, my prayers are truly with you. Please stop this before you harm your baby more than you already have.

God bless you...

Sweetheart, I smoked with all my kids (age 21-28) on my youngest child I had a great doctor, he had me bring a nice smoke to my ultrasound at 4 mos. Every puff I took, the little babies arms went out and shook. That scared me to death. I quit, until he was born. I have smoke every since and wish to God I had never picked it up again. Ask your doctor to let you smoke during the next ultrasound, it will cure you for now. Kris

There have been studies that link smoking during pregnancy and respiratory issues for your child (i.e. asthma, etc). I would strongly recommend you stop quickly for the sake of your child. Speak with your doctor about options to help you quite. In addition, I lost my mom to complications of lung and breast cancer when I was 11 (she was 44). She battled cancer from the time I was 5. Coming from someone who grew up without her mom and is now a mom of two....I cannot imagine the cigarettes are worth it. Good luck and I will be praying for you and that you are able to gain the strength to kick the habit (atleast until after your baby is born).

PS Here are a few links that may help you:
http://health.discovery.com/centers/pregnancy/americanbab...

http://www.babycenter.com/0_how-smoking-during-pregnancy-...

http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pregnancyhealth/smoking....
Good Luck!!! My two year old is Caleb too.

Maybe this will scare you. Smoking causes premature birth and low birth weight. I am a special education teacher and when I check the records of my children about 50% or more of them were low birth weight or premature.

Wow. I am in the exact same situation. I quit as soon as I found out I was preggers with my first, smoked off and on (one here and there, nothing regular) with my second, and am having a terrible time quitting this time around (I am also 5 mo along). Unfortunately, I obviously won't be any help here, but I will be watching your thread to see if anything that I can use too comes up. I will say this though: As much as I know we are both wrong to be doing this, as someone who actually understands the addiction, I do not judge you for it. Yes, we are selfish, and so forth, but I do understand what an addiction really is. That doesn't make it right or excuse it in any way, I just wanted you to know you aren't being judged, at least not by me. Best of luck to you in quitting (get lots of gum and crunchy foods like carrot sticks) and try to stay away from other smokers as much as possible. Not just because of second hand smoke, but I know I personally am a social smoker, and that has been one of the reasons I have struggled to quit. My husband was around for my pregnancy with the second child and he smoked, even though I begged him to quit for my sake, to make it easier for me. I know I can quit if they are not available to me. But my neighbor and a friend I see every day (I watch her child) both smoke, so being able to get them has been a downfall for me. But after really seeing the possible deformities, I am done. I hope you are too. And I hope most of all that our children do not suffer long term from our screw-ups.

Hi L.,
My name is S. Hein. I am a certified Family Herbalist in Wilmington, NC! There are a few products you can try that will be safe while your pregnant. Lobelia inflata 30C, this is a homeopathic remedy that suppresses tobacco cravings. Nux Vomica 30C, this is a homeopathic remedy that helps with irritability. Homeopathic is completely safe for pregnant women, lactating women, children, pets, ect. It is also safe to use with perscription meds, as there are no negative side effects. There is also an herbal based supplement by, Herbs Ect. It is called Smoke Free Spray. This is sprayed in the mouth at the signs of craving. It is safe for pregnant women, because it is such a low dose of herbs. ( Much safer then smoking!) These can be purchased at your local health food store or ordered on line. The homeopathic comes from a company called Boiron. I hope this helps you.
With love and respect
S. Hein

L.,

I am a professional in the maternity field. They have implicated that nicotine is the leading cause of learning disabilities. It also raises the risk of SIDS or crib death.
After the child is born they tend to have more asthma and respiratory infections. Babies are often smaller because the fetus receives less oxygen and the placenta wears out quicker. My mother smoked for all three of her pregnancies and we all have ADD. Not sure if that is the reason but it makes me go HMMM. It would be to the advantage of everyone in your household if you quit. I know that it is hard because I have been there but you can do it. Hope this helps. Would you give your child a cigarette??? I doubt it. Smoking during pregnancy is the same thing. Please QUIT. You can call 1-800-QUITNOW

M.