I'm 10 weeks pregnant and a smoker. I've cut down to about 2 a day, but its so hard!! I'm really trying to quit but I want to know what kind of damage I'm really doing, if any? A lot of my friends smoked during thier pregnancies and the babies were fine.
2007-03-13 16:35:15 · 15 answers · asked by Kelly 1 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Pregnancy
I am not saying yeah go ahead and smoke a pack a day, but I smoked with my first daughter and she is very healthy and I have smoked through this whole pregnancy. Just cut back alot I know it is hard but think about why your doing it.
2007-03-13 16:40:42 · answer #1 · answered by Jessimommyof2 2 · 0⤊ 3⤋
The effects of smoking during pregnancy may not necessarily be evident at the time of birth or in early childhood. Perhaps the child will be more sucseptible to cancer in early adulthood? They could have deficiencies in areas that are not evident until a more mature age. Why would you want to take the risk? If pregnancy isn't the best reasone to give up then I don't know what is. And of course it is going to be hard - you are an addict to nicotine!!!! I never had another cigarette after I found out I was pregnant - 10 years ago. I have since had 2 more babies. Nicotine and all the other poisons and carcenogens in cigarette smoke enter the blood. The same blood that flows through the placenta. Your blood has reduced levels of oxygen so therefore so does your placenta. Look at the placenta of a smoker and that of a non-smoker. A smoker's placenta is smaller, really dark and just really sick-looking. Ugh - and that is the environment that your baby is growing in. Pity he/she doesn't get to make the decision - what do you think they would say if you could ask them?
2007-03-13 16:48:33 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
It is REALLY bad. Even if your friends' kids turned out "fine", who's to say they wouldn't have turned out BETTER if their Mom hadn't smoked? Plus, some of the chemicals in cigarettes may have a long-term neurological effects that have yet to be seen. At the very least, oxygenation of the blood is seriously compromised, and the mother's blood stream is what nourishes the fetus.
If you're smoking two a day, tomorrow smoke one, and the next day QUIT for God's sake. Your baby will only benefit from it. Plus, there's no time like the present to realize that everything you DO, for at least the next 18 years, affects your baby. The hard part is putting them first, but it's time to start practicing.
2007-03-13 16:48:26 · answer #3 · answered by Kat 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Every pregnancy is different, just because your friend's babies turned out to be "fine" doesn't get you off the hook... don't be stupid cuz you really don't know the damage until it's too late. At least quit so when your child is older he'll know that you cared about them so much that you quit while you were pregnant. I know quitting is hard but once you get over a smoke free week it gets easier, goodluck
2007-03-13 16:41:58 · answer #4 · answered by grace 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes, smoking is bad for all of us and especially bad for not yet developed lungs and the rest of unborn baby parts. Check a few sites on the web for reasons to quit for your baby's health, and ways to make it easier for you.
Some people have a few drinks during pregnancies without bad outcomes, but some babies have horrible defects as a result.
I know it is really hard to quit smoking, but the difficulty for you for a short time is worth not having your baby possibly have a lifetime of problems.
2007-03-13 16:55:03 · answer #5 · answered by Jennifer 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
http://www.webmd.com/baby/guide/smoking-during-pregnancy
That will tell you all the different factors that smoking can increase. Here's a short rundown:
Smoking can cause low birth weight, decreased oxygen to the baby, increased heart rate, higher chances of stillbirth and miscarriage, and lung problems.
There are many problems that smoking can cause, and it's best to not do it at all. Even two a day. I know it's hard, but think about that baby, and think about the goal of having a healthy, happy baby at the end of those months to help get you through it.
2007-03-13 16:43:30 · answer #6 · answered by kaitlyne 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Really you ask?
Really bad. No kidding. Just imagine; your baby is growing incredibly fast, growing organs such as the brain, lungs, liver, kidneys etc.... trying to grow bigger and stronger so that it can live outside of the womb.
Now just imagine, a perfect environment for the baby. It has everything it needs to accomplish this huge important task of growing to be born.
Now, add cigarette smoke to the picture. The placenta darkens. The blood vessles that make up your baby's umbilical cord constrict, and start to suffocate your baby. Your baby struggles as the poison cuts off its oxygen, and puts hundreds of nasty, cancer causing poisons into its body.
Its up to you. As soon as I found out I was pregnant, I quit. Cold turkey, from a pack a day to nothing. And I didn't have one problem with it. I did it for my baby. I did it for her life and her health and her trust in me that she is supposed to have. I figured, if I didn't make a sacrifice as trivial as this for her, who ever would? Shouldnt mommy be the one who would give her own life for her child?
Surely quitting smoking isn't too much to ask.
2007-03-13 17:07:04 · answer #7 · answered by teagansmummy 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Why you you want your baby to smoke? You know the dangers of smoking! You know smoking causes cancer and other illnesses! Why subject your unborn child to cigarette smoke? My soon to be wife is 20 weeks pregnant, I thank the lord she does not smoke. She won't even go around smokers while she is pregant.
2007-03-13 16:45:03 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
Low birth weight, increased risk of stillbirth, premature birth...any of those sound bad? My sister had my niece ON HER DUE DATE and she was only 4lbs 15oz. Also, when the baby's born, there's a much higher risk of the baby having allergies, asthma, and dying of SIDS if they are living with smokers.
I understand it's hard. It's also hard to see people who do drugs, drink, and smoke in their pregnancy and their babies are okay... that doesn't mean everyone's will be!
I really hope that you are able to quit.
2007-03-13 16:44:05 · answer #9 · answered by Trouble's Mama 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
My mom quit cold turkey when she planned to have me. She hasn't touched a cigarette in 45 years.
Smoking is bad for an unborn child. Quit now if you really care about your baby.
You don't know the babies of your friends were really fine. There can be defects you weren't told.
EVERYTHING is hard, but you CAN quit. If my mom can, so can you.
2007-03-13 16:45:35 · answer #10 · answered by Nancy 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋