Do you think that smoking while pregnant is a form of child abuse?

Question

You wouldn't give a child a cigarette to smoke right? It's against the law. So, why do pregnant women smoke and get away with it?

Answer 1

absolutely it is abuse! To every women here who thinks it is not, or trying to defend themselves for doing it.. ask yourself this question, How would I feel if I deliberately harmed my child, or caused my child's death? Smoking while pregnant causes birth defects, it has been linked to learning disabilities,adhd and even SIDS. Second hand smoke is more dangerous then first hand smoke. It is very carcinogenic. That means you are deliberately causing your child to be at risk for cancer. I think there should be some kind of fine imposed on a pregnant women for smoking, kinda like a ticket.

Answer 2

That's a very personal question and not one I wish to give a general opinion on, but I will say that I would NEVER smoke if I was pregnant and I would not allow anyone to smoke around my child after it was born, but that is just how I feel about my baby, everyone has to make their own minds up what is right or wrong for them and their children, and then live with the consequences. I know one girl who has 5 kids and she smoked throughout all her pregnancies, 1 kid is fine and healthy, the other 4 suffer with chronic asthma, I don't know if that is related to her smoking but I would not want to take that risk, however small.

Answer 3

I don't think it is a form of child abuse. Certainly a woman cannot force her baby to smoke. No mother would want her baby to grow up with permanent health damage due to long term exposure to nicotine ingestion. Though the mother bears a large responsibility but we cannot deny her own natural right to smoke. One would argue what about the fetus's natural right against secondhand smoking? Yet the fetus has no more right than the mother's decision to have an abortion. So the question is up to the pregnant women to make an ethical choice. Is their urge to smoke is more or less important than the health of their child?

Answer 4

Smoking while pregnant is very dangerous for the babys health, any mother who thinks the risks are worth it because she is "stressed out" and cant quit smoking is not fit to be a mother in the first place. People need to put things into perspective.

Answer 5

Unfortunately it is not against the law. It is very bad for the baby and I wish people can see this. I have two children i smoked before but never ever during. Mothers have to give every chance for health for their babies.

Answer 6

this is a silly question. why dont you include relation between eating habits and juvinille diabetes. You give your child what they eat sometimes it is not the healthiest thing in the world and could cause serious heealth problems in the not so distant future..is that child abuse. Or how about complications you can suffer during pregnancy from being overweight? Is that abuse.
GIVE ME A BREAK it is all rediculous and judgemental.

Answer 7

In response to binglejells, I did! I quit smoking cigarettes and meth. All the second I found out I was pregnant. If you are responsible for a life! All parents make mistakes, but don't make them knowingly!

Answer 8

pregnant women get away with it b/c it is their choice. and in most cases only causes low birth weight. also, it could cause stress for the baby if it is too stressful for the mother to quit. and their ob/gyns only suggest for them to slow down, but not completely stop. b/c smoking constricts the blood flow to the uterus. and the baby is not able to get all the nutrients that it needs. that is why most babies have low birth weight.

i know this b/c i smoked cigarettes during most of my pregnancy also. they had to induce me b/c my baby stopped growing, 38 weeks gestation. 37 to 40 weeks is considered full term. she is a healthy one year old now.

don't hate.

Answer 9

in my opinion if you smoke during your pregnancy..you might as well as had an abortion because its the same damn thing..you are killing your child slowly but surely...
I dont care how "healthy" on the outside ..just by smoking you put a foreign, harmful substance into your newborns lungs before it even took a breath of FRESH AIR outside of the womb.... a woman who smokes during pregnancy is just selfish, inconsiderate and should not have a child if all they can think about is their "needs" and their "wants" ..what about that the child you are carrying in your womb?...what about the possible defects that COULD AND IT DOES HAPPEN to newborns?..

The mother CHOSE to smoke, if that mother wants to shorten her life then thats her choice BUT that BABY did not CHOOSE to smoke.....so why dont these mothers WAIT until AFTER their baby is born and let them CHOOSE whether they want to inhale that nasty, harmful, deadly NICOTINE AND ALL THOSE OTHER CHEMICALS into their bodies when they become of age. Why are you forcing a deadly substance into that newborns life?...

This goes for women who do drugs during their pregnancy as well...and I can bet that these same women who smoke during pregnancy will be the same women against women who do drugs during pregnancy...why?...becuase everyone knows that that is almost sure death, or birth defects for the newborn..so if people can believe that, how come these women dont understand that smoking is a drug too?

YOUR ADDICTED TO NICOTINE RIGHT?, ITS THE REASON WHY YOU SMOKE EVERYDAY RIGHT, BECAUSE YOUR ADDICTED TO THE NICOTINE IN CIGARETTES..ISNT THAT THE SAME DEFINITION OF A DRUG ADDICT..YEP.....YOU ARE ADDICTED TO A FOREIGN SUBSTANCE THAT IS DEADLY TO YOU.....EXCEPT SMOKING CAN KILL THOSE WHO ARE NOT SMOKING TOO..DRUG ADDICTS JUST KILL THEMSELVES UNLESS THEY ARE PREGNANT..

YOU SEE THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE.....so why do they let them get away with it..i dont know ...they shouldnt.....

IM FOR LIFE AND GIVING NEWBORNS THE CHANCE TO HAVE A FRESH BEGINNING NOT A SOURED ONE.......

Answer 10

Because it is legal for an adult to smoke and the baby is not yet recognized as a human.

Alot of women and our government don't seem to mind if you suck a baby out of a woman in little chucks , so how do we expect anyone to care if it is a little retarded due to smoking/drinking/drugs?

Isn't it great that you can go to jail for kicking a dog, but it is just fine to kill an unborn baby?