Smoking while pregnant.. is it child abuse?

[ShanandBoc]

Like it has said before its an addiction and for some its hard to give up.. My mum smoked through all her pregnancies we are healthy, my sister smoked with my neice she is healthy, I chose not to smoke and my girls arrived early and have some health issues with regards to immune system. Im not saying its OK to smoke, I know its not but to label them as child abusers is ridiculous. I know that there can be damage but its not the case for every pregnancy.

Every mother who smokes throughout pregnancy is exposing their child to all those harmful substances, you cant say that there isnt damage everytime. It may not be obvious in all cases but u cant say that is does no damage. 9+ months of breathing in that smoke would have an effect on anyone, its naive to think that it wouldnt imo. To say 'oh my niece is fine' or my 'children have health issues and i didnt smoke' is a poor argument

To be knowingly exposing a fetus to all thats in cigarettes is cruel. Would it be a be abuse to give a baby

Acetone
Ammonia
Butane
Hydrogen cyanide
Methanol
Arsenic
Carbon monoxide

While out if the womb? It would see people up in arms about it, as it would be seen as abuse would it not?

According to your reasoning, any addiction is therefore not classed as abuse? If you seen a heroin addict passed out with a needle in her arm (no im not saying cigarettes and heroin are the same - but they are both an addiction) would you not feel as tho she was abusing her child? Its a choice that mother has made

I dont understand how anyone can think that knowingly putting harmful chemicals etc into your body while pregnant is not child abuse.? I was worried if i ate mayo while pregnant!

I would have done anything to ensure the health of my child and if i was a smoker, i would have stopped simple....and yes i am an ex smoker so i know it can be hard

 

[Aidan's Mummy]

My mum smoked during pregnancy with me and I didnt seem to have any ill effects. Yes smoking during pregnancy is bad and can somtimes cause visable damage.

Whereas heroine can kill a baby and will often cause visable damage. My OH wad born addicted to heroine, he had to be withdrawn from it. He would scream, shake and sweat. Heroine cause serious damage and cause such distress leading up to death. That's the difference x

 

[Laura2919]

Just because something is an addiction does not make it ok to harm a child, back to my analogy "she is on heroin and hasnt fed her children in days but thats ok, because it is an addiction" now THAT, is ridiculous. Someone on here posted about quitting, hard as it was, so this means it is possible, therefore mothers should be expected to quit.

Who said that? what a silly thing to say.. Nobody said that it was OK to do. It goes to show how people can twist words.
I quit when I was pregnant and I havent smoked since. 3 years in August but I dont judge others like your all doing because I KNOW how hard it was for me. I had a previous pregnancy which was a MMC the year before and thats what made me quit. I didnt want to take a risk. I never said it was ok for someone to smoke and I am not trying to justify it but I am not going to think of my sister or any family member of mine or anyone elses as a child abuser. It reduces the oxygen levels to baby but most babies dont have a lasting health issue.
My OH mum didnt smoke and he had asthma as a child so it could be anything that causes a health issue not just smoking.

 

[Laura2919]

Like it has said before its an addiction and for some its hard to give up.. My mum smoked through all her pregnancies we are healthy, my sister smoked with my neice she is healthy, I chose not to smoke and my girls arrived early and have some health issues with regards to immune system. Im not saying its OK to smoke, I know its not but to label them as child abusers is ridiculous. I know that there can be damage but its not the case for every pregnancy.

Every mother who smokes throughout pregnancy is exposing their child to all those harmful substances, you cant say that there isnt damage everytime. It may not be obvious in all cases but u cant say that is does no damage. 9+ months of breathing in that smoke would have an effect on anyone, its naive to think that it wouldnt imo. To say 'oh my niece is fine' or my 'children have health issues and i didnt smoke' is a poor argument

To be knowingly exposing a fetus to all thats in cigarettes is cruel. Would it be a be abuse to give a baby

Acetone
Ammonia
Butane
Hydrogen cyanide
Methanol
Arsenic
Carbon monoxide

While out if the womb? It would see people up in arms about it, as it would be seen as abuse would it not?

According to your reasoning, any addiction is therefore not classed as abuse? If you seen a heroin addict passed out with a needle in her arm (no im not saying cigarettes and heroin are the same - but they are both an addiction) would you not feel as tho she was abusing her child? Its a choice that mother has made

I dont understand how anyone can think that knowingly putting harmful chemicals etc into your body while pregnant is not child abuse.? I was worried if i ate mayo while pregnant!

I would have done anything to ensure the health of my child and if i was a smoker, i would have stopped simple....and yes i am an ex smoker so i know it can be hard

So am I. So I know how hard it is too. Your not the only one who has given up.

 

[marley2580]

IMO when one says "where do you draw the line?" it sort of implies that they are looking for a concrete rule that can be applied in any eventuality but you cannot, at any one moment, prepare for every eventuality but once you know something is without a doubt dangerous, then you can legislate against it. I hope my post makes sense as I was struggling with the wording.

But there is a line atm. And that is that a woman has control over her own body. That should never change IMO. Just because a woman is pregnant doesn't me that she suddenly becomes a walking incubator. Of course she should be responsible and give up or reduce her smoking, but if she chooses not to then it should still be her choice.

To all those that say it is child abuse, what sanctions would you put in place to stop an adult taking part in a legal activity? Would you criminalise them? Take their children from them? It all sounds very Orwellian IMO

 

[Lightworker]

Yep nobody wants to think of their own family members as abusers but in terms of this debate this sentiment means that any objectivity is compromised.

 

[lesleyann]

its a womens right to with as she wishes with her body as long as it is legal.why should women have to stop doing things just because their pregnant, if they cant quit they cant quit end of it does not make them a bad person. they could be doing much worse than smoking.

 

[Lightworker]

My heroine analogy was not to do with the ill effects on an unborn foetus, it was to do with the addiction itself and how it compromises a mother's ability to care for her children. I made the comparison because there seems to be the notion that because it is an addiction then it is exempt from being viewed for what it really is, i.e abuse/neglect. Having said that, even if the effects of heroine are more severe on LO, it does not negate the fact that smoking during pregnancy is abuse as you are harming LO.

 

[lesleyann]

Heroine does 100% always affect the foetues though and alive babies if their parents are doing where as smoking does not make you incapable of looking after a child.

End of the day is cannot be clased as abuse since the unborn foetus has no rights and is not classed at living so therefore the argument is mute..

 

[Lightworker]

Lesleyann- for my part, the argument is not MOOT, because I am not debating within the confines of the existing legal framework, I am debating on the basis that we are a forward moving, forward thinking society that needs to address issues as they arise and amend any laws to reflect that we are not a stagnant society and to ensure that we FULLY protect the rights of humanity.

 

[Lightworker]

With the Thalidomide saga people were furious that pregnant women were allowed to consume a product that harmed their unborn, why is it different with smoke, when smoking clearly harms the foetus as per overwhelming scientific evidence? Or is it a case of "a little harm is alright,but if the harm is severe then its not alright" HARM IS HARM little or severe. When I had headaches or gallstone pain, I persevered through them because I didnt want paracetamol in my blood, why would you put your LO through that?

 

[Laura2919]

Like others have said its not against the law to smoke when pregnant and there never will be that law because you cant stop someone from smoking so in reality its never going to be labelled child abuse. Only by people who take it upon themselves to have a label for every type of mother.
Is there scientific evidence that proves smoking has a lasting damage on every child? < Thats a genuine question, not being funny or rude.

 

[Lightworker]

Once upon a time, people said blacks will NEVER be free, women will NEVER have the right to vote, but now the world's only super power is headed by an African lol and women are not only exercising democratic rights, they are leading democratic nations, so the notion that "x will never happen" is thoroughly thoroughly flawed, you only have to look at modern society to see this.

 

[lesleyann]

But it wont happen while we are in the EU atlest.. otherwise it takes away a persons human rights... If a prisinor can have rights to not be deported on a "human rights" law. Pregnant women cannot be made by law to stop on human rights laws also. Once people manage to get laws like no smaoking when pregnant past is a day this world changes in a bad way because once we stat to remove human rights what will be left allowed to do? If you earn under X you cannot have children? If your mentally ill you have to be steralised? If you earn under X you cannot have dogs? You cannot drink alcohol on any day but a saturday? turn like china and have a 1 child only rule? If your under 25 and pregnant you have to an A? the world would go mad removing human rights.

 

[Dragonfly]

I dont get why people are still confused, when you put stuff in to your body that contains a lot of harmful ingredients most of which are poisins are you still confused that it dosnt go to your baby? would you feed your baby that when it came out of the womb as they will have withdrawels. Do you want your baby to have withdrawels as any smoker knows what it feels like to be gagging for a smoke. Imagine feeling that anxiety as a baby. And never mind lasting damage there here and now would be important also, why put them through that? why say its ok they will be fine in the long run. The guilt I would feel would kill me as i do feel guilty I smoked at the start of my first pregnancy and gave up. Hard but my child was more important. Maybe smokers shouldnt bother giving up as it seems to not harm children according to some.
And it makes me laugh when some people wont eat certain foods just in case like raw egg and cheeses yet they are lighting up.

 

[Dragonfly]

But it wont happen while we are in the EU atlest.. otherwise it takes away a persons human rights... If a prisinor can have rights to not be deported on a "human rights" law. Pregnant women cannot be made by law to stop on human rights laws also. Once people manage to get laws like no smaoking when pregnant past is a day this world changes in a bad way because once we stat to remove human rights what will be left allowed to do? If you earn under X you cannot have children? If your mentally ill you have to be steralised? If you earn under X you cannot have dogs? You cannot drink alcohol on any day but a saturday? turn like china and have a 1 child only rule? If your under 25 and pregnant you have to an A? the world would go mad removing human rights.

i dont think there should be a law there should be woman wanting to give up for their babies.

 

[Lightworker]

Dragonfly - I was also asking myself why I am still debating something that is plain and obvious! Lol!
Lesley-ann the reproductive and other rights of a parent MUST, in my opinion, be balanced against those of the unborn child. Right now the LOs rights are precisely nil, which is what I am against. At the mo, there is no balance, just a mothers "right" to do what she wants to her foetus.

 

[katrina1987]

Well I am sorry but I certainly dont think of my sister as a child abuser because she smoked.. I think its awful that they are seen in the same category as a monster like Baby P's mum. But then again someone said its child abuse having your childs ears pierced. I think its a case of agree to disagree here.

Completely agree with this. I do love the fact now I have just been told I abused my child whilst pregnant!!! My LO is my world, my everything and I would do anything for him. I struggeled during pregnancy to quit but cut down to 2-3 a day, I had a lot of family issues and only my OH really for support. My LO is so well looked after, loved and cared for and I don't know how some of you can judge or compare a person to some of the sick people out there that abuse there children everyday. I don't think there is any comparison whatsoever

 

[Laura2919]

Well I am sorry but I certainly dont think of my sister as a child abuser because she smoked.. I think its awful that they are seen in the same category as a monster like Baby P's mum. But then again someone said its child abuse having your childs ears pierced. I think its a case of agree to disagree here.

Completely agree with this. I do love the fact now I have just been told I abused my child whilst pregnant!!! My LO is my world, my everything and I would do anything for him. I struggeled during pregnancy to quit but cut down to 2-3 a day, I had a lot of family issues and only my OH really for support. My LO is so well looked after, loved and cared for and I don't know how some of you can judge or compare a person to some of the sick people out there that abuse there children everyday. I don't think there is any comparison whatsoever

Its ok. I am classed a child abuser too. I smoked for the first few weeks that I was pregnant and I also have my childs ears pierced so I am right up at the top of the list of child abusers!



I think its disgusting how people label others with these ridiculous terms.... I see nobody answered my question about scientific evidence that it has an affect on ALL children long or short term.

I dont think saying never will be is flawed. Its called Human rights as Lesleyann pointed out.

 

[Dragonfly]

do babies have rights as mum chooses the best there?

ps I never said anyone was an abuser but mums need to step up and see it does harm and to stop.