Smoking During Pregnancy

hi M.,
i didn't know i was preg with #1 son and smoked for the first couple of months. actually i smoked all the way through but when i found i out i was pregnant i did manage to cut way back. interestingly, the health problems occurred with #2 son, and i was perfectly behaved (other than weight gain) through his pregnancy!
i'm certainly not advocating smoking, the risks are proven and many. but it's not a certain recipe for disaster either.
khairete
S. (happily smoke free after many, many years of attempted quits)

I smoked with two of my three children and they don't have any problems and they are 16 and 14 now...the only thing different between the first two and the last was their birth weight...

my step-kids' bio-mom smoked and gave them both a asthma...and my DSS is very diminutive (on the small side) - I also attribute this to her bad habits....if you're smoking, please stop. It could be you caught it in time to not do too much damage...and if you have already quit - good job - I know how hard it is - I quit before I got married to my DH and started raising the step-kids - it wasn't easy, but I didn't want them to see me smoking or be exposed to my second-hand smoke. since they have been in a smoke-free environment, they have done away with their inhalers and their allergies have decreased...they are doing much better now. :) ALSO - love yourself! You will feel so much better after you quit for good - your breathing will be easier, you will smell different and food will taste so much better!!!

I personally quit a year before I got pregnant. I have a friend who smoked through all 6 of her pregnancies. 4 of her kids have asthma, 3 of them have been hospitalized for RSV at least once. a couple were pre-term, they had low birth weight. Yeah, smoking has been SOLIDLY proven to cause harm to a fetus. There's no excuse for it.

I did not smoke, but a relative of mine did, and her son was born small. To this day (he's an adult now) he is much smaller in stature than average and his height has always been an issue for him. For guys especially it's tough to be on the small side. If it was the smoking that caused it, then it's sad to think that maybe that problem could have been completely avoided if his mom would not have smoked for those nine months. Hope this helps.

I quit smoking when I got pregnant with my first. My mother smoked when she was pregnant with me and my brothers. To compare, my brothers and I all weighed under 7 pounds when we were born. My kids, except for my third, were all over 7 pounds, the heaviest being 9 pounds 14 ounces. My third was 2 months premature, so she was small. It does make a big difference.

wish I could say no...however I did smoke for the first 4-5 months of my pregnancy. my daughter came out normal weight and I breastfed her and she is strong, and healthy. I did NOT smoke heavily. although I agree...no smoking is good. I was a bit "off" from having to stop taking my meds for anti anxiety and depressed from our financial situation at the time. had I known better I would have approached the doctor and figured out a better way to deal with it all.

Hi there,

I was smoking when I found out I was preggo with my 1st. I cut back, went to lights, then ultra lights, then I quit within the 1st trimester. I am not sure if going cold turkey is in your bodies best interest, if you have problems with quitting cold turkey then it may end up causing problems for the baby. You should talk to your dr about that! You should take about a week or 2 to cut way back and go to ultra lights, then quit.
My son is just fine bc I quit so early. I never went back to another cig since I quit. I have been smoke free for over 10 years now! I can tell you I felt alot better after I quit...it took a little bit of time, but I could notice a big difference in the way I felt. I smoked for 7 years.
Our family is healthy, and never around smoke.

I had a friend that got preggo, she refused to quit smoking, she cut back some, but never quit. Her daughter has breathing issues. Low birth weight isn't the only issue with smoking!

It's in everyone's best interest to stop ASAP!
Good luck and God Bless!

Obviously smoking can cause a lot of problems for the baby. And after the baby is born can continue to cause problems such as childhood asthma.

If you are asking how much damage is done if you smoked early, I would imagine very little. But only your doctor can tell you for sure. the important thing is that every day that you don't smoke helps your baby. FOcus on those good days and not the days you smoked.

If you are still quitting - good luck!!!!!! It is a wonderful gift for your family, but also for yourself. YOur kids need a healthy home and a healthy MOM!

the problem is smoking not quiting. dont try to find excusses to not quit. besides its best for your older kids too.

I smoked for about 10 years before I got pregnant and quit the day I found out I was pregnant. Honestly, I was so sick about the first 6 months of being pregnant that I couldn't even smell a cigarette without getting sick so that made it easier for me. It was the best decision I have ever made. My son is 2 1/2 and I still have not had a single cigarette. I must say that strangely as soon as my son was born I felt I needed a cigarette and my body felt like I just quit yesterday. I never understood how a woman could go back to smoking after quitting for 9 months until this happened to me. I didn't give in and was fine a week or two later. I know for me, I can never have even a single cigarette or it may lead me to start smoking again. My son was born a very healthy weight, almost 9 lbs. and I am so glad I quit. Smoking during pregnancy will expose your baby to nicotine, carbon monoxide, and other harmful toxins that can stunt his growth — including brain growth. I definitely think quitting if you are a smoker is the best decision you could make and will do nothing but help you live a longer healthier life with your children.

M., you don't actually say if you're smoking and pregnant now or if you're concerned about whether smoking during your two earlier pregnancies affected the children you've already had. Either way -- you know what to do if you're smoking now. Not only would you be exposing a fetus to the results, you would be exposing your 3 1/2 and 2 year olds to secondhand smoke. There are many studies showing that secondhand smoke eventually sickens those exposed to it. If you are NOT smoking now and wondering about the impact on your children because you smoked during pregnancies you already had, check with a doctor, but that boat has already sailed, as the saying goes. Just staying off cigarettes is the vital thing now. Either way, stay smoke-free so you live longer to be with your children and so they grow up healthier. Good luck!

I wouldn't advocate it, but my mom smoked while she was pregnant with me and I'm about as healthy as it gets. I don't smoke (never have) and I have a daughter will respiratory problems. I guess you never know, but don't take the risk if you can avoid it.

I worked as a neonatal nurse and smoking during pregnancy can cause problems. The baby can have low birth weight and respiratory problems and is more likely to develop asthma. My sister in law quit while pregnant. I'm not sure if she went cold turkey or gradual and it was hard for her, but she did without any problems to the pregnancy. Good luck, you can do it.

Hi M.,

I know you want to do the right thing. My mother smoked while pregnant with my brother. He ended up with a hole in his heart, cord wrapped around his neck, club foot and other neurological problems. Also, after living in a house with smokers, as an adult I have a severe smoke allergy- it may actually be asthma. So, that's something permanent my mother has given me. Each time you breathe, you are breathing for your son or daughter. Do you want to send her/him a breath of fresh oxygen or do you want to send a cloud of cancer causing chemicals and choking smoke to her/him to breathe in and to expose directly to a growing and more exposed brain, lungs and organs? Smoking has also been shown to cause learning disabilities in children. Just think about what you "want" for your baby for now and for later in his/her life. I'm sure the tempoary release/pleasure of the cig won't be more important than the rest of their life. You can't undo it once it's done.

when i first found out i was pregnant i was smoking an it was hard to stop. me i think that u should just cut back a lot dont smoke as much.
but what smoking while pregnant can do is give your child low birth weight