smoking???

[sammi.bump]

my mental health team have told me to cut down to a minimum but not quit as im trying to be weened of my meds a little and dont need the extra stress, and my friend did some research into the e-cigarette and apparently smoking handmade is the safest as it has less chemicals but smoking cigarettes is better then smoking the e-cigarette during pregnancy because the % of nicotine per puff in the e-cigarette is to high and can cause miscarriage if over used, i thought that was really weird and thought id share her findings for all of those who are finding it hard to quit.

and please dont judge me i have been smoking since i was very young and got down to 1 cigarette a day with my last pregnancy, i dont smoke in my house, i dont smoke down the street so other people aren't exposed to my choice and when breastfeeding i take every measure to not be covered in cigarette stink when its time to feed/hold the baby

 

[Aidan's Mummy]

I think it's good you have seen it as an issue and you are cutting down instead of carrying on as normal. If health professionals have said that you should just cut down then don't feel guilty. Stress can be harmful to a baby too. Your doing really well hun x

 

[naria]

Health proffessionals advice you cut down and don't quit straight out as it can stress the baby more. I know the problem in a smoker pf 14years but managed to drop to 5-7 a day from 20+. They say the best ones are silk cut as they as low tar so atm ive got the purple silk cut, my 5 of them is like 3 normal ones.

The e-cigs haven't been tested as safe yet so they say don't take them. I'm waiting for my 12week when the mw can get my a prescription for the good old gum hopefully it will help some

 

[donnarobinson]

Your doing well hun x

 

[Tiger77]

Sorry to be off topic but was just flicking through this thread and noticed Aidan's Mummy,you are in Hull,i am down the road from you,i work in Hull

 

[FeistyMom]

sammi - thank you for posting this. It takes a lot of courage, but I bet that will be useful information for other moms. I had always assumed e-cigs would be 'healthier', but the % nicotine makes sense. My hubby has smoked since he was 17, tried quitting multiple times (managed for the entire duration of my first pregnancy, bless him) but never stuck. so he currently is doing e-cigs. I am assuming that its still better for me than if he were doing normal though, from a 2nd hand perspective?

 

[sjwebb]

I was a smoker when I got pregnant with my son 4 years ago. I know how hard it is it quit. I think any amount that you cut back on is a step in the right direction but obviously not smoking at all is the best choice.

If it were me, I would switch to the e-cig. Either way you look at it, it has to be healthier than a real cigarette. Think about all the crap thats in them. You don't have to sit there and smoke the e-cig for 20 minutes. Take a puff, put it down, maybe a couple hours later, have another puff. Use in moderation. Or maybe try the nicotine gum...not sure if its safe during pregnancy or not though.

 

[medic9114fun]

I'm currently struggling to quit. I had a high stress job that doesn't help.
I've cut down a ton but not as much as I'd like or able to quit

My dr said that nicorette can be used I does say not to use in pregnancy basically because it is still nicotine and that still isn't good but better than all the chemicals. That being said the gum made me super sick! I now have the inhaler, kinda like a cigarette but not quite. It defiantly helps.

Sadly the ecigarettes here in canada are only available nicotine free...

 

[ILoveShoes]

Health proffessionals advice you cut down and don't quit straight out as it can stress the baby more. I know the problem in a smoker pf 14years but managed to drop to 5-7 a day from 20+. They say the best ones are silk cut as they as low tar so atm ive got the purple silk cut, my 5 of them is like 3 normal ones.

The e-cigs haven't been tested as safe yet so they say don't take them. I'm waiting for my 12week when the mw can get my a prescription for the good old gum hopefully it will help some

Health professionals shouldn't really be giving this advice anymore ^^^ It's been proven to be outdated. Google your local NHS Stop Smoking Service. They'll be able to give you the most upto date advice about quitting whilst pregnant. They'll also be able to prescribe nicotine replacement therapy, which is free while you're pregnant.
Good luck
xx

 

[medic9114fun]

Health proffessionals advice you cut down and don't quit straight out as it can stress the baby more. I know the problem in a smoker pf 14years but managed to drop to 5-7 a day from 20+. They say the best ones are silk cut as they as low tar so atm ive got the purple silk cut, my 5 of them is like 3 normal ones.

The e-cigs haven't been tested as safe yet so they say don't take them. I'm waiting for my 12week when the mw can get my a prescription for the good old gum hopefully it will help some

Health professionals shouldn't really be giving this advice anymore ^^^ It's been proven to be outdated. Google your local NHS Stop Smoking Service. They'll be able to give you the most upto date advice about quitting whilst pregnant. They'll also be able to prescribe nicotine replacement therapy, which is free while you're pregnant.
Good luck
xx

I wih the nicotine replacement was free while pregnant here! On canada or at least where I live it isn't

I was also told te same thing by my dr about quitting but he did say it isn't safe to smoke either and I should be aiming to quit

 

[Aidan's Mummy]

Sorry to be off topic but was just flicking through this thread and noticed Aidan's Mummy,you are in Hull,i am down the road from you,i work in Hull

:wave: Oh hi Where abouts x

 

[tdog]

Sorry to but in here but this is what does my head in I'm a smoker I have cut down a lot what happened in the olden days when my grandparents smoked loads a day my mam and day perfectly fine, it's 2 over rated now, my mate had 6 kids the only one she stopped for and he as asma so how can they say smoke can harm a baby when inside yes stress is more harmful to a baby than smoking and yes I agree smoking while preg cut down, I told my health proffesional off the other day, I said it's got no1 else's business what I do and no1 is tell me what I can and can't do! No1 should judge any1 for what they are doing we are all human lets face it if we were all the same the world would be pretty shit

 

[Ashla]

I was a smoker when I got pregnant with my son 4 years ago. I know how hard it is it quit. I think any amount that you cut back on is a step in the right direction but obviously not smoking at all is the best choice.

If it were me, I would switch to the e-cig. Either way you look at it, it has to be healthier than a real cigarette. Think about all the crap thats in them. You don't have to sit there and smoke the e-cig for 20 minutes. Take a puff, put it down, maybe a couple hours later, have another puff. Use in moderation. Or maybe try the nicotine gum...not sure if its safe during pregnancy or not though.

If the OP's health professionals have given her advice, I think she would be much better to follow that than to follow your lay opinion, well intentioned though it may be.

 

[sammi.bump]

everybody has a different situation and different stresses in their life. i didnt cut down with my first, she was 2 days late healthy and 6.12, my second i cut down to 1-2 a day he was born 2 weeks early and 6.11. everything you do and eat can harm baby and yourself, you might aswell admit yourself to hospital for 9 months and then you would still lake vit d from being inside all the time, every body makes the choice that is best for them and their baby. i personally am dealing with alot, therapy for sexual abuse as a child and physical abuse in a past relationship, my own mental illness my nans cancer and my aunt (who is like my mum) is currently letting her mental illness take control of her, and if a fag every now and then keeps me sain, thats what im going for, people who drink before pregnancy get told they can have a glass of wine a day to stop withdraws so as i said, its all about personal situations.

i share the information my friend got to help me so i could help other women with a problem that women dont talk about in fear of being judged, if i can help one person feel less like a horrible person then i have done what i set out to do x

 

[tdog]

everybody has a different situation and different stresses in their life. i didnt cut down with my first, she was 2 days late healthy and 6.12, my second i cut down to 1-2 a day he was born 2 weeks early and 6.11. everything you do and eat can harm baby and yourself, you might aswell admit yourself to hospital for 9 months and then you would still lake vit d from being inside all the time, every body makes the choice that is best for them and their baby. i personally am dealing with alot, therapy for sexual abuse as a child and physical abuse in a past relationship, my own mental illness my nans cancer and my aunt (who is like my mum) is currently letting her mental illness take control of her, and if a fag every now and then keeps me sain, thats what im going for, people who drink before pregnancy get told they can have a glass of wine a day to stop withdraws so as i said, its all about personal situations.

i share the information my friend got to help me so i could help other women with a problem that women dont talk about in fear of being judged, if i can help one person feel less like a horrible person then i have done what i set out to do x

Well said hun I agree with everything you said, and tbh I'm getting a little sick and tired of being looked down at because I smoke, my first ended in m/c my second I cut down she was born 3+6 early and healthy 5lb 8.5oz my son I stopped for a year and he was 5 weeks early and 7lb 3.5oz so just goes to show having a prem baby don't all come down to smoking so people need to put their knecks back in place and their nose in their own business, as I said earlier if I want a fag then sue me, go for it girl as long as baby good and health so what xx

 

[AJnJJ2008]

They do have 0 nicotine e-cigs. Also, the new big thing is vaporizing, it's basically like an e-cig, but many companies make 0 nicotine e-juice for the vape pens....

I'm not sure how safe they are, but they do have 0 nicotine..so probably better than a cigarette...

 

[FeistyMom]

I just found out from my hubby that the vapor juice also comes in different levels of nicotine, so you can step down.

But I think the point of the OP was that the concentration of actual nicotine consumed from vaporing and e-cigs is higher than the percent consumed in traditional smoking (less nicotine is lost as waste product and more goes into your blood stream), and with smoking + pregnancy the nicotine itself is the main risk; the other negative aspects of smoking are more related with longterm issues.

Quitting is just not an option for some ladies, while moderating is at least doable. Many women will see absolutely no difference between smoking/not smoking, and some will see disaster, just like non-smokers do for all the other things that can influence a pregnancy.

Thanks again for bringing this up, even though it is such a sensitive subject!

 

[paulinamc]

​

hi girls, I was 6 weeks pregnant when I found as we were not planning a baby just yet, about 1 year ago I stopped smoking thanks to electronic cigarettes and I'm still using them, so obviously was using while pregnant. Before I knew I conceived I used 18 mg strenght liquid but as soon as I found out I went for 0 mg so virtually nicotine free. Don't know what went wrong but in 10 weeks I had a miscariage, i was looking after myself, eating healthy, stopped coffee, red bulls taking pregnacare, resting a lot etc although out of nowhere lost a baby which was the most devastating experience I ever had in my life. Was thinking and thinking and trying to convince myself it wasn't ecigarettes fault but I am not too sure, I hope to get some explanation from tests my wee angel... anyway my advice is to stop completely no matter how hard it is, that's what I would do if I got another chance as it's definitely not worth risking it, not entirely sure that it was nicotine intake via ecigarettes but it could as well have been so let it be a warning for all mums to be who are thinking that ecigarettes are safe xxxx

 

[Tridda]

As much as I understand that everyone is making an effort to use cigs less....and I understand doctors saying to gradually go off them to not hurt the baby....I feel like it's so sad that it's so hard to quit when your child's health is at risk. I understand that smoking may not have hurt your kids or people you have known have smoked while pregnant...but what is the plus? What is the absolute positive to smoking while pregnant? There isn't one. Just like theres no proven positives to drinking. When I smell smoke around me , I quickly get out of the area- don't want to expose my tiny baby to that.

To be 100% honest, when I see a visibly pregnant woman smoking- I feel like I'm watching child abuse. I have had friends who have done it and I lost respect for them. So incredibly sad if it can't be cut out by the time they are showing!

I am diabetic, since being pregnant, I've cut out a majority of what I'm used to eating and am eating very blandly, most people would hate to eat what I have to to keep our baby safe. We all have things we are dealing with and individual challenges. We all have to be honest with ourselves and ask what is best for the baby, not ourselves.

 

[maryanne1987]

As much as I understand that everyone is making an effort to use cigs less....and I understand doctors saying to gradually go off them to not hurt the baby....I feel like it's so sad that it's so hard to quit when your child's health is at risk. I understand that smoking may not have hurt your kids or people you have known have smoked while pregnant...but what is the plus? What is the absolute positive to smoking while pregnant? There isn't one. Just like theres no proven positives to drinking. When I smell smoke around me , I quickly get out of the area- don't want to expose my tiny baby to that.

To be 100% honest, when I see a visibly pregnant woman smoking- I feel like I'm watching child abuse. I have had friends who have done it and I lost respect for them. So incredibly sad if it can't be cut out by the time they are showing!

I am diabetic, since being pregnant, I've cut out a majority of what I'm used to eating and am eating very blandly, most people would hate to eat what I have to to keep our baby safe. We all have things we are dealing with and individual challenges. We all have to be honest with ourselves and ask what is best for the baby, not ourselves.

I must agree with this post I'm afraid. I would never judge anyone by what they chose to do with their body and baby but in my own opinion I really don't understand why anyone would carry on smoking whilst pregnant. I just feel the baby should be put before any needs of your own. I was a smoker when I found out I was pregnant with ds 9 years ago. But the minute I found out I quit. And I was 20+ a day. It was the hardest thing I've ever done but the thought of harming my baby in anyway killed me. There are so many studies that show the damage smoking has on a developing baby. Of course if medical professionals have suggested not to quit then I can't argue with that as it's not my place but I do worry what doctor you may be seeing as personally I've never met one who has ever said anything similar. Most will offer help and advice on how to quit. I wish you all happy healthy pregnancies.