Smoking during pregnancy?

[KiwiMOM]

Today I found out my friend that is 20+ weeks pregnant is still smoking!? I had maybe 2 cigs in early pregnancy, I feel so guilty about it.. I'm terrified LO will have issues because of it (I', a social smoker when I've had a few too many..) and being pregnant has been the best motivation to quit EVER! I understand that it's a hard thing to quit, I was a pack a day smoker when I was 14-16. I just don't understand how you could keep smoking when LO is being effected too.. its not just about you any more. Views/ideas/experiences anyone?

 

[MonstHer]

Maybe she's in denial? Has she told anyone(parents) and is she getting excited?

Some more details about her would be nice.
Addiction can be a horrible powerful thing.

 

[KiwiMOM]

She's so excited about it, she posts scans and bump pictures and status's (sp?) about her son.. She's made it clear from the start that she's really happy about this baby.

I didn't even know she was smoking til she went to the bathroom during our conversation and came back ages later saying she'd just had a smoke.

I don't want to post any more info about her personally as she isn't on bnb.. but wanted to hear about your guys experiences with smoking and pregnancy.. or if there is anyone who is having/has had issues giving it up so I can give her advice/understand her situation a little more. because right now I just can't understand

 

[Shanelley]

Hmm. Well i smoked a lot pre-pregnancy. Once i found out i was pregnant i cut down from 10+ smokes a day to 3 a day, then 2, then 1, then none. Sometimes i find i get too stressed and need to have one. And i do. yes i feel guilty of corse. But the fact that i don't smoke anymore. Maybe once every couple weeks if i can't stand the stress.
If people cant stop smoking during pregnancy cutting back does make a difference. although stopping completely is defo the best for LO. Has she cut back? Or is she still smoking as heavy as she did before?

 

[KiwiMOM]

Smoking sucks.. I've been there lol.. sometimes I wonder why they're still legal anywhere, its such a life style and so hard to quit.. Good for you for cutting down to one every few weeks at most. I kept going through little relapses before I found out and then I wouldn't smoke for ages.. being pregnant has been a great excuse for me to quit, and I'm hoping LO will be enough motivation to stay off them.. Ciggs are evil lol

I don't know if she's cut back, I hope so! I just feel like if she was gradually cutting back by 20 weeks she wouldn't be smoking, she's only 16!

 

[Shanelley]

That is very true. I can't stand smelling like a smoke. Its desgusting. It gets in ur hair on ur hands everywhere and it's not nice. It affects peoples babies differently too, some have problems, some don't. So it really isn't worth the risk. Don't get me wrong, i enjoyed smoking expecially with an alcoholic drink.
But i will try my best to stay off them after LO is born too. Because even 2nd hand smoke is bad for them, or the smoke that stays on ur clothes.

 

[KiwiMOM]

I hate the smell clinging to me too.. its funny because its not really that nice but it is pretty fun and sociable lol

 

[Shanelley]

I do agree, it is sociable. When im around people smoking i want to smoke too. I'll prob just be a social smoker afterwards. like when i have a night out or something. Because yea

 

[tinkerbelle93]

I can't really comment too much as I've always been a non-smoker so have no idea how difficult it is to give up.

My mum smoked through her pregnancies with me and my brother though, I think she cut down to three cigarettes a day. The doctor recommended that she cut down rather than quit all together as the stress wouldn't be good (!) Lol, maybe that's what they did in those days. Me and my brother are perfectly okay though. xx

 

[Pixiebear]

Hello!

I'm still smoking though my pregnancy.. I've tried to give up with nicotine patches but it makes me feel sick and unhealthy. It's so much harder than it looks. The doctor said it's best not to just give up as it could stress me & the baby out just try to cut down and hopefully when the LO is born I'd give up. I've cut down from 10 cigarettes a day to about 5/4.
I know lots of girls who were pregnant and carry on smoking and end up having very healthy babies.

 

[Emmyxxlou]

Yeah I have always promised to never smoke while preggers. Its selfish and disgusting. I thought it would take getting pregnant to make me stop but turns out I could do it on my own anyway

 

[KiwiMOM]

I'm glad to hear both sides of the story, I have heard that sometimes dr's recommend to just cut back to avoid stress, quitting smoking sucks.. I don't know if that's what's up with my friend, I'll have to ask.

 

[trinaestella]

I used to be a social smoker, but I smoked quite a lot because I was starting to get stressed out, and also most weekends I would be drinking alcohol...

After I found out I was pregnant I stopped smoking asap. I felt bad though because the day before I had been to a party and I was smoking weed and cigarettes, plus drinking alcohol..

Today I saw someone smoking whilst pregnant and was so shocked though, I remember when my sister used to sneak cigarettes sometimes during her pregnancy and it didn't bother me, but now as a pregnant woman I can relate and I just found it disgusting, I couldn't do that to my child..

 

[princess_vix]

Sorry to butt in here..BUT in no way whatsoever does going cold turkey harm your baby.
Once you quit your baby's oxygen levels will go up,where as if you continue your restricting the baby's oxygen levels.

I smoke myself but managed to stop during my pregnancy,And i have smoked since i was 13 and still managed to stop for my baby and went completely cold turkey.

It's only for 9 months i dont understand why people try and justify the fact that they can continue smoking and it'll be fine.

I understand its an addiction and a hard one to break ect ect and try not to judge people who try their hardest to cut down ect ect but by quitting completely it will NOT harm your baby...


The lungs:
When you smoke, or inhale other people's secondhand smoke, the smoke goes into your lungs.
Chemicals from the smoke, such as carbon monoxide, are then absorbed into your bloodstream.
Some of the oxygen in your blood is replaced by carbon monoxide.
This means that the oxygen supply to your baby may be restricted.

Heart:
When you smoke you inhale over 4,000 chemicals from the cigarette. One of these is a dangerous chemical called carbon monoxide, which gets into your bloodstream.
This restricts the oxygen that's essential for your baby's healthy growth and development, and because cigarettes restrict their oxygen supply, their tiny heart has to beat harder every time you smoke.


Stop smoking now and both you and your baby will get the benefits immediately. The carbon monoxide and other chemicals quickly leave your body. It means there's more oxygen in your blood, making you and your baby much healthier.

These facts came from here:
https://smokefree.nhs.uk/smoking-and-pregnancy/?&gclid=CJ6apNWfqasCFcMKfAod_0C50Q

 

[Gee123]

It is hard to quit especially if you've been smoking a long time. I'm sure her baby will be fine. I was smoking before i found out i was pregnant, i would smoke like a pack a day and then extra rollies(handmade) every half hour or something. I also drank a lot around the time i missed my period, and that combined with smoking must have effected him so much. I felt so guilty that i cried all the time about it but i'm so lucky that he's completely healthy, altho i will miss smoking i'm never putting myself or my baby through that again.

 

[MummyTinks]

I used to smoke 10-15 fags a day.. Biggest sign I was pregnant for me, before i go my BFP, around six days before, when tests were coming up negative even the smell of smoke made me gag! I just knew i was pregnant!

 

[jemmie1994]

i smoked a lot before i was pregnant but quit soon as i found out its hard and if anyone near me is having a cig am like omg i want one! but wont cos love my LO too much and i want them be healthy, not gonna take it back up once baby is born if i can go 9 months without i can go without altogether

 

[Kaisma]

I was smoking a lot 1 year back. Before pregnancy just now and then. Once I found out Im prego, Ive smoked none. I dont accept ppl smoking during pregnancy. Its so harmful for ur baby and if u cant see how it has affected the baby straight away, problems can come later in their life too.
I know quit smoking is hard as Ive been there but I would never smoke when pregnant.

 

[erinlena]

Im not a smoker but there was a girl in my school before i left who was a heavy smoker her baby died after she was 3 months old bc she had developed lung problems in the womb. Im pretty sure thay doesnt happen a,lot but it really opened up my eyes to severaity of the situation.

 

[Ramen]

I wouldn't bring it up to her unless she's heavily smoking. If she's smoking a small amount of cigarettes odds are she's trying to taper it down. The only way I've ever stopped smoking is by tapering down and cutting the amount I smoke in half each week until we're left with nil because cold turkey gives me the shakes and aggravates my tourettes. I usually relapse half a year later, though so I wind up tapering down quite a bit. In my experience quitting people bringing it up to reprimand me, or jokingly searching me just made me more anxious and guilty which worsened the cravings and actually made quitting harder. There's not a smoker out there who doesn't know the effects of nicotine on their body and what can happen during pregnancy they don't need to be reminded UNLESS she's chain smoking and not even trying to cut back then by all means even if it hurts your friendship let her know that you're worried about her and her baby and that you think she should cut back half of what she smokes every week and keep cutting back as much as she can.