Is it really harmful to smoke cigarettes while pregnant?

Question

I am 6 months along and quit cold turkey as soon as I found out I was prego. But I've been a smoker for 10 years and I am afraid that getting stressed out is just as bad for me as smoking! I mean, my blood pressure is sky rocketing! Any suggestions on what to do?

Answer 1

Yes it is.

Smoking actually decreases the available oxygen in your blood so you would be depriving your baby of oxygen and nutrients by lighting up.

Nicotine is actually a stimulant. It doesn't really relax you. The calming feeling you get is actually from depriving your brain of oxygen.

Try drinking some chamomile tea and listening to some calming music.

Take several deep breaths. Breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth.

Get some relaxation tapes.

Answer 2

Cheese and rice these people are terrible, aren't they? Don't listen to these idiots, they just want to make themselves feel better by putting you down. Look, if you're only smoking a couple of cigarettes a day, it's extremely unlikely that you'll cause any sort of damage at all. I've gone down from 30 a day to 2-4 a day in the last 2 months, and I believe I am doing an exceptional job. My doctor has been supportive of my decison to wean myself off of them rather than just quit cold turkey. I don't believe I'd have been able to just quit completely at the time. More likely, I'd have just started right up again. I know that smoking during pregnancy isn't healthy (hell, smoking any time isn't healthy) but we must all realize that it is an addiction. It's like asking an alcoholic not to drink anymore, when virtually everyone else is drinking right in front of them. Since we are talking about addiction though, I don't think that smoking 6 to 8 cigarettes a day constitutes as being addicted to the nicotine. However, if you're only smoking 1 or 2 a day, you're doing wonderfully, and don't listen to all those perfect, holier than thou jerks out there who act like they've never done anything wrong in their lives.

Answer 3

Don't go by what I did. When I found out I was pregnant, I quit, well sorta. I would puff on a cigarette now and then, probably 1 cigarette a week. Once I hit that 9 month mark, I was smoking regularly. I gave birth to a healthy baby boy. I have known many many woman who smoked thru their entire pregnancies and had healthy babies.

If you blood pressure is up you really should see your OB, could be the beginning of preeclampsia.

Answer 4

Smoking causes high blood pressure, and when you couple that with the stress of pregnancy its very very dangerous.

Besides that, your baby takes in te toxins first hand from the smoking. It causes low birth weight and malnurished babies, and has a high risk of premature birth. Most smokers babies spend an average of 3 days in ICU. Not to mention behavior problems as the baby grows into a child.

So yes, the effects are serious and it really is harmful. Iam proud that you had the foresight to stop smoking while pregnant.

Just remembe that second hand smoke, including the chemicals on your clothes after smoking, effect babies exactly the same way as if you were blowing the smoke directly in their faces. It causes asthma, behavior problems, health concerns... its just not a good thing all around.

Your better yet is to take a stress management course and learn how to deal with stress. If you have eben smoking to ten years and have quit and replaced it with a pregnancy, then you and your body have never truely learned how to cope with stress.

You need to eat well, lots of whole grains, and get pleanty of exercise. Walking and swimming are the absolute best things for your pregnant body.

Lastly, remove any stress sources you can from your life. Just realize that you cant rid yourself of stress... its part of living, what you can do is change how you choose to react to it.

Good luck.

Answer 5

yes it is harmful to smoke ciggarettes even if you are not pregnant. it not only hurts you but anyone else in your presence while you are doing it. it is definetly bad for your are born child. most babies that live through the pregnancy of someone that smokes have low birth weights and are usually preemies not too mention their lungs aren't as healthy as a baby that is born to a mother that doesn't smoke. do yoursef, your unborn baby and others afavor and quit now and don't start up again after you have your baby. if you want to know how to quit and it is hard for you then talk to your doctor.

Answer 6

Smoking decreases oxygen and blood supply to your baby...that is why they say do not smoke while pregnant.

Take a look at this site and see what kind of problems a baby can face if a mother smokes.

Talk to your doctor, try eating jelly beans that is what President Reagan did when he quit smoking...picked up on jellybeans

Answer 7

Its very harmful to yo baby's health to smoke when pregnant.
There are alternatives that wont put yo child at risk.Try Nicotine Chewing Gum.

Answer 8

It's pretty bad as it restricts the flow of blood to the baby and can cause low birth weight. I know it's hard to quit,I smoke,but it's for the better for you and baby. You need to find alternate methods of relaxing cause ciggies are not really relaxing in the end. They are stimulating.
You should speak right away to your health care provider if your blood pressure is going up because that is very dangerous.
Have you looked up pre eclampsia?
You should speak to your doctor anyway, they may be able to guide you to a solution
http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/pp/womens/obsmoking/SmokingWhilePregnant.asp

Answer 9

Smoking is very detrimental to your baby's health.
It causes carbon monoxide to rise in your bloodstream which reduces the amount of oxygen available to your baby. This in turn causes a lower birth weight and/or respiratory problems, such as asthma.

When my mother was pregnant with my brother and I she stopped cold turkey as well, and replaced the cravings with eating. I'm not saying this is a healthy way to cope with it though. So ask your doctor.

Answer 10

After 6 months you should be able to stay off the cigs. I hear the hard part is like the first 6 weeks. You are probably already through the hardest part. Don't go back to smoking, even after you have the baby. Stay out of the bar for like a year.