Mom's That Smoke Only Answer This Please?

Question

I would like to know if anyone has breastfed and smoked cigarettes. And if so, is everything ok. I am 35 weeks pregnant and have smoked my whole pregnancy. My doctor says the baby is perfectly healthy. I seen in baby talk magazine that you can smoke, but not more than half a pack a day. I only smoke that much anyways. But I also seen on websites and stuff that you should quit if you breastfeed. I dont want to quit. If I did I would've done it when I found out I was pregnant. If it is not safe then I wont breastfeed. Please help me, I am in need of a decent answer!

LOOK!!! IF YOU ARE HERE TO DEGRADE ME FOR SMOKING, I DONT WANT YOUR D*MN ANSWER THEN. SO F OFF. IT WAS A QUESTION FOR PEOPLE THAT DO SMOKE AND HAVE KIDS, BECAUSE I WANTED TO KNOW THE CONSEQUENCES OF THEIR ACTIONS. AND FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT DID GIVE ME DECENT ANSWERS AND DIDN'T DEGRADE ME FOR IT, THANK YOU. I AM FED UP WITH PEOPLE ON THIS ANSWERS WEBSITE WHO DEGRADE PEOPLE FOR THE QUESTIONS THEY ASK. NOT JUST ME BUT PLENTY OF PEOPLE. I HAVE BEEN READING AND IT IS THE SAME THING, OVER AND OVER AGAIN. IF YOU DONT HAVE A GOOD ANSWER FOR THE QUESTION OR YOU AINT GONNA SAY SOMETHING WITHOUT BEING ALL UP THERE BUSINESS, MORE THAN THE QUESTION CALLS FOR, THEN DONT EFFIN ANSWER THE QUESTION!!!! DANG!!

Answer 1

According to LLLI's THE BREASTFEEDING ANSWER BOOK, if the mother smokes fewer than twenty cigarettes a day, the risks to her baby from the nicotine in her milk are small. When a breastfeeding mother smokes more than twenty to thirty cigarettes a day, the risks increase. Heavy smoking can reduce a mother's milk supply and on rare occasions has caused symptoms in the breastfeeding baby such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea. (Vorherr 1974). By keeping smoking to a minimum, a mother can decrease the risk. When a mother smokes a cigarette, the nicotine levels in her blood and milk first increase and then decrease over time. The half-life of nicotine (the amount of time it takes for half the nicotine to be eliminated from the body) is ninety-five minutes. For this reason, a mother should avoid smoking just before and certainly during a feeding.

Maternal smoking has been linked to early weaning, lowered milk production, and inhibition of the milk ejection ("let-down") reflex. Smoking also lowers prolactin levels in the blood. One study (Hopkinson et al 1992) clearly suggests that cigarette smoking significantly reduces breast milk production at two weeks postpartum from 514 milliliters per day in non-smokers to 406 milliliters per day in smoking mothers. Mothers who smoke also have slightly higher metabolic rates and may be leaner than non-smoking mothers, therefore, caloric stores for lactation may be low and the mother may need to eat more.

http://www.lalecheleague.org/FAQ/smoking.html

Answer 2

I don't want to sound bad, but honestly it's your mother's choice. My mom smokes (so do my father and my brother) and it bothers me still. But now that I smoke it's not such a huge deal. It is an addiction (though not as severe and detrimental as alcohol or hard drugs), and you have to deal with that. I know you're young and you want her to be better and whatnot, it is her life. If you honestly feel so strongly about it, like I did when I was younger, just tell her that you really don't feel comfortable with it. Tell her that while it is her personal life and she's an adult and can make her own decisions, you feel like it's affecting her children poorly. If she's mature (which she's a younger parent so she may or may not be ((you being 13 and her being only 31 puts her at around 18 when she gave birth)) ), she should take it in a constructive way. But if not, just try to ignore it and tell your siblings not to imitate that type of behavior.

Answer 3

I am a smoker, have tried many times, many ways to quit without success. But I will not let any smoke be around my baby. When I do smoke I have to go through a lot of trouble. I change shirts, go outside, come back in & wash my hands & face. Therefore I do not smoke often. The smoke itself could choke the baby & cause respiratory problems.
Please don't smoke around your baby once he/she is born.
I smoked through my whole pregnancy & had a perfectly healthy baby. Every woman I've ever known who smokes & got pg never stopped smoking while pg & had perfectly healthy babies. I know there are risks, but as many women as there are who get pg, and as many women who smoke while pg, have you ever heard of a baby being born with something wrong with it because the mom smoked?
As far as breastfeeding, I can't believe I didn't think about that! I had intended to breastfeed but can't because of medications that I have to take. I'm curious to know what 3 out of 5 doctors would say about it!
What about women who breastfeed & live with chain smoking men? I've known a couple women who've done that.
I would think the baby was getting nicotine in your body while you were pg, how much more can it get from breastfeeding.

Answer 4

I read in a book (your baby week by week) that they haven't found any significant problems with smoking while breastfeeding. All they said was try to quit smoking. If you can't quit smoking continue to breastfeed as breast milk helps prevent problems with second hand smoke. Hope this helps.

Answer 5

Call me a bad mother, but I smoked when I was pregnant with both my boys.
The oldest is almost 18yrs and he has always been fine. I didnt get to breast feed him and he always had ear infections any time the weather changed. He is 6 foot 2 and buff. And smart. And weighed 8 lb 12oz at birth.
My youngest is 18 months old. Surprise. I am 38.
I breastfed him and he has never been sick. I stopped at 5 weeks.
He weighed 6lb 13oz at birth and now weighs 34 lbs
Dont smoke in the house or around the baby and never when you are actually literally breastfeeding. But I still smoked(outside) and everyone is ok.
I am not condoning it, just telling what happened with me and mine.

Answer 6

"First of all, a mom who can't stop smoking should breastfeed. Breastfeeding provides many immunities that help your baby fight illness and can even help counteract some of the effects of cigarette smoke on your baby: for example, breastfeeding has been shown to decrease the negative effects of cigarette smoke on a baby's lungs. It's definitely better if breastfeeding moms not smoke, but if you can't stop or cut down, then it is better to smoke and breastfeed than to smoke and formula feed.

The more cigarettes that you smoke, the greater the health risks for you and your baby. If you can't stop smoking, or don't want to stop smoking, it's safer for your baby if you cut down on the number of cigarettes that you smoke."

I found this article and though that it may help you.

Answer 7

I have heard that it is seriously not safe while breastfeeding.

I'll try to find you some information on the subject--just give me a minute!

This is the best I could find! Wikeipedia is very reliable!

When breastfeeding may be harmful to the infant: uses potentially harmful substances such as cocaine, heroin and amphetamines. Substances such as caffeine, tobacco, and alcohol, while possibly harmful to the nursling if consumed in large quantities, are safe to use in moderation while breastfeeding (see below)

Breastfeeding mothers must use caution if they smoke and therefore consume nicotine. Heavy use of cigarettes by the mother (more than 20 per day) has been shown to reduce the mother's milk supply and cause vomiting, diarrhea, rapid heart rate, and restlessness in breastfeeding infants. Research is ongoing to determine whether the benefits of breastfeeding out-weigh the potential harm of nicotine in breast milk. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is more common in babies exposed to a smoky environment. [17] Breastfeeding mothers who smoke are counselled not to do so during or immediately before feeding their child. They are encouraged to seek advice to help them reduce their nicotine intake or quit.

Hope this helps! Congratulations!

Answer 8

I am a smoker, but i wasn't able to breastfeed due to medical problems. I am no professional, but i think that if you smoke while breastfeeding i think that your baby will be getting the nicotine and tar with your milk, that's why it's not advicable to smoke when breastfeeding. Just try to smoke away from the baby.... go outside. That's what i do.

Good luck

Answer 9

smoling while breatfeeding is very ill advised. Forget all the activists and the craze-driven people out there that switch opinions based on the current politically & socially correct attitudes that are popluar. There is no absolute science to it as every persons body & make up are different and there is no formula that can be applied without fail to calculate the results for any himan body..hence the mystery that is the human race, of which your baby will be a member very soon and the same will apply to your newborn. We do know, as smokers, even among those if us who are very healthy in all respects, do subject ourselves to deficits of one form or perhaps another, one of which is the ABSOLUTE addiction we develop. In that regard you must consider that being a smoker is YOUR choice and while it is one that should be respected without ridicule or judgement it is not fair to force the potential addiction on that of your child. Your child will grow up one day and when he or she is old enough it will then be their choice to make. It is not fair to him or her to make that decision for them with all that they will have to face in this great big world. Give him or her the best foundation to start from .. the cleanest and safest one available. That power lies solely within you at this stage of the game. Whatever you do, I wish you and your family the very best of luck and blessed wishes.

Answer 10

I hate antismokers!!!!!! I smoked with both of my pregnancies and breastfed with one. Everything is fine (with both kids) As a matter of fact my 12 year old is the tallest in his class. Both of my kids were carried til term, and neither have asthma.
It is totally ok. Why would smoking and breastfeeding be more harmfull than smoking while pregnant?? What I did read somewhere is not to smoke a half hour before feeding. I don't know. I didn't follow that rule, but it may make you feel better