Smoking while pregnant?

Question

So, i have had some pregnant friends who said their doc's told them not to quit, but to slow down because it would cause the baby too much shock. I smoke, and could possibly be pregnant and i'm abit scared to just up and quit because of the things i've heard.... any OB's out there or people with past experience who could help me? Thank you very much:)

"Race Re;ations Today" What kind of person are you?


As for everyone else, i'd really appreciate a GOOD answer plz?

thanks to all you caring people who are answering... and to you others who think i'm being selfish, i'm asking whether or not i SHOULD QUIT for the BABY! so chill, plz? And so you know, i'm graduated, married, with a career. I'm an adult, so stop judging me, you don't know anything about me.

Answer 1

Wow...people love to get really nasty about the whole smoking while pregnant issue...unfortunately people would rather criticize than try and help.

As for your Dr. advising cutting back...I have heard of that. My father has been smoking for 30 years and went through a rough divorce. He started having chest pains from the stress and the Dr. actually said that obviously smoking is NOT good for you, but to quit smoking right now in the middle of all the stress could be MORE harmful. He was advised to dramatically cut back and get some help with the stress....THEN deal with quiting smoking.

This may not be the case with you, however. Ask your doctor about the effects of suddenly quitting. You need to seek advise based on your personal condition rather than your friend's situations.

Obviously, we all know smoking is bad during pregnancy....you don't need a lecture about it. Talk to your Dr about helping you cut back so that you CAN quit successfully while you're pregnant. (I had to quit smoking when I got pregnant and it can be very difficult and stressful...but IT CAN BE DONE! Getting support is important). Just know that you can do it!!! I promise! It's very hard, but every cigarette you decide not to smoke helps...and don't be too hard on yourself. Just keep trying, get some good support and work closely with your Doctors.

YOU CAN DO THIS!! :)

Best of luck!

Answer 2

Well I say since you are not sure if you are pregnant you should stop until you find out for sure. I work in a hospital with premature babies and smoking will not kill your baby off back but you do have a larger chance of a baby with lower birth weight, asthma problems, and plainly underdeveloped which can cause death. So just advising quit while you are ahead and don't let it progress. And for your friends I have heard that if it is some sort of drug not tobacco then you should slow it down and not just quit. My experience with babies on drugs is that we have had to continue the drugs and slowly take them off because if we didn't they would go into shock and possibly die.

Answer 3

I will tell you my experience...I have 3 children....I smoked with all 3..Anyone can say what they want, it was a decision I made.My Dr also told me to cut back, but not to stop suddenly also.
My son, who is now 16 was born with NO PROBLEMS....My daughter who is almost 5 was also born JUST FINE.Now I come to my newest addition who will be 6 months old an the 22nd.
Bailee Elizabeth was born with congenital bilateral clubfeet, yes, I smoked while I was pregnant with her, but as with my other two children, I cut back tremendously.Her specialist cant say for sure what caused her clubfeet, although I has been shown that some women who smoke during pregnancy have the chance to have a baby born with clubfeet.
Yes, she is otherwise a healthy,happy baby, and has had to have surgery to correct her clubfeet.
So I will say to you, is it really worth the risk? Had I been aware, ai would have taken my chances and quit altogether.
It is something I will have to live with for the rest of my life.Even though they CANT SAY FOR SURE SMOKING CAUSED HER CLUBFEET, IT IS A POSSIBILITY.
I am NOT being judgemental, I am telling you, it can happen, and in my case, did.

Answer 4

Alittle will power never hurt. Why not just quit. Have you heard of the health risks involved with women smoking while pregnant? Pretty scary. I smoked for over six years and when the day came that I found out I was pregnant, I quit. It was hard and the cravings were there for weeks after taking the stand, but I did it. You can too, you just have to believe in yourself. Good luck, do it for your baby.

Answer 5

Usually the doctor doesn't say not to quit unless you're already pretty far into the pregnancy, but doctor's can be stupid too!

I would quit, don't do it cold turkey, just gradually reduce 1-3 smokes a day until you are at 1 or 2 a day, and then you can quit. You can't really use quitting aids, but you can chew gum (that helps a lot of smokers with the need to have something in their mouth!)

Good luck, and try to quit... it's best for you and the baby that way.

Answer 6

its hard to imagine a doctor telling a pregnant mother to keep smoking while pregnant, if you really want this baby and you want it to be healthy you would quit, smoking while pregnant can harm the baby in so many ways such as birth defect, low iq, retardation and so much more. Is that what you really want for your baby. My addvice is stop thinking about yourself and think about the baby for now, it wont do no harm if you stop for 9mo. just to protect the baby. I would not pay any attention to crystal just because the first two did not come out with problems doesnt mean that it wasnt the smoking that affected the third child, all that smokin probably messed up her inside and her lungs with toxins and that baby had to inhale all those from the inside thats probaby the reason it was born with all those malady. Its better to be safe that sorry.

Answer 7

I smoked with 2 out of 3 of my kids. I quit smoking when I was pregnant with my daughter, 13 years ago. She seemed to have more problems after the birth and for years after that, than my 2 sons did (and I smoked with them). She had breathing difficulty and needed oxygen for almost a week after her birth (no she wasn't premature, she was a week overdue & she was normal birth weight 7lbs 5 oz). I smoked with both of my sons, they haven't had any problems health wise, they were both term babies. My oldest son weighed 10 lbs 5 oz and was 23 inches long and my youngest was 9lb 1 1/2 oz and 21 inches long. I won't tell you whether or not to quit, that has to be your decision. I am just telling you my experience. I wish you the very best.

Answer 8

Look, even if you are not pregnant, quit. It sounds to me that you are engaging in activities which could mean pregnancy later...why would you want to be smoking when you become pregnant? Also, quitting now is much better than quitting later, I don't care what people say about withdrawl for the baby. The withdrawl will be worse when they are born.

Answer 9

I've actually heard this before - my friend got pregnant and she quit, but she was so stressed out that her Dr. told her it was better to have a smoke once in awhile than to subject the baby to her withdrawal and stress. I didn't believe her, but I can see how it could make sense.

Obviously, no Dr. in the world would ever tell someone NOT to quit smoking, but they have to look at the whole picture.

Talk to YOUR Dr. - only they can advise you properly on this issue. Good luck.

Answer 10

It is dangerous to smoke while pregnant but as a smoker i also know how stressful it is and how hard it is to give up. I smoked and had the odd few glasses of wine at the weekend and my little boy is 2 now, it hasn't done him any harm. He's big for his age and doesn't have asthma or anything like that, do whats best for you not what other people are trying to force you to do.