I just found out I am 6 weeks pregnant. I am also a smoker...any help?

Question

My doctor said to just cut down gradually over time and not to quit cold turkey. She said it will put the baby's heart in distress if i quit all at once b/c the baby, too, is addicted. When my sister in law was preg. with her 1st child she quit and the baby's heart beat went way up. So my question is this...is this something i should quit all together, or gradually? i am kind of torn between the two!! This is my first child and my husband and I want to have a safe and healthy delivery and baby. I know i should listen to what my dr. says but somehow this just makes me feel guilty to keep smoking....any suggestions or experience with this you can share are appreciated!! thanks!!

Answer 1

I'll tell you this, I was pregnant last year, quit cold turkey and had a miscarriage at 6.5 weeks. This time i gradually quit and now I'm 20 weeks pregnant. all I can say is, you be the judge

Answer 2

I'm also pregnant and I was a full time smoker 1+ pack a day. I also heard the same thing that if you quit cold turkey the baby could get distressed and cause a miscarriage. So I did what I thought was best even though I felt a little guilty, I slowly reduced the amount of cig. i'd smoke, And also because I was addicted it was really hard for me to cut back, I eventually got down to like 4 smokes a day and then one day I lit up a smoke and It tasted as if I was licking an ash tray (never had that before) so with this I KNEW that it was time to throw the rest of the smokes out. I havn't smoked a cig. since I was 8 weeks pregnant, I am now 16 weeks. So if I can do it You can too. And if you want to keep your baby I'd do what the doc. says and quit slowly. Good Luck!

Answer 3

It depends on how far you are...you are 6 weeks so quitting cold turkey should be fine...my doc said being further along that it's not good to quit cold turkey...he also said that smoking can cause low birth weight but maybe up to a 1/2 a pound at the most. I smoked my entire first pregnancy and went from over a pack a day to half a pack and my baby was 6lbs...I only gained 10lbs the whole time..but I'm also short and thin....my mother smoked the whole time w/this last pregnancy and her baby came out 8lbs 3oz. If you can't quit cold turkey then just gradually cut down to none.

Answer 4

Congrats on the baby! When I found out I was pregnant I was smoking a pack and 1/2 a day ( I was on the depo shot and had no clue I was pregnant.... Thought I had a virus)! I cut back to less then a half a pack a day. When I spoke with my OB she told me to do what I could... That the best time to quit was between 12 and 16 weeks. I was told that the patch or any other aides were not allowed and dangerous to the baby. She explained that the stress of quitting was just as dangerous if not more before 12 weeks because of all of the major development going on. And, that it was dangerous to smoke after 16 weeks because the baby's lungs were developing. Anyway, to make a long story short... I cut back to about 2-3 smokes a day by 15 weeks and then I really thought about it. I would feel so guilty every time I smoked! My big thing was the fact that the baby would have to go through withdrawls when born! I could not imagine putting him through that by no choice of his own.... He would not even understand that was what was going on! Also, I kept thinking about wanting to breastfeed! So, those thoughts alone are what finally gave me the strength to quit. That and I chew gum like a crazy person! It was very hard but very worth it because now I feel like I'm ready to be a really good mom! The biggest thing is not to beat up on yourself, do what you can and quit when you are ready!
Very Best Wishes!

Answer 5

Wow--it would be really hard to continue smoking knowing what your are giving the baby through the cigarettes. At only 6 weeks it seems that your baby would be fine with going cold-turkey, however I also fully believe in following doctor's orders.

Can you try an in-between by drastically reducing the amount you smoke over the course of like 2-3 days until you are completely off of them? That seems like it would be better than continuing for a matter of weeks or months.

You might also get a second opinion from another doctor--maybe your general practitioner instead of your OB/GYN alone.

Good luck and good job for caring about your baby enough to give up the cigarettes!

Answer 6

I've heard different things. Personally, I think if you're a heavy smoker, more than a pack a day. I'd try cutting down over a course of a week then just quitting. If you're less than a pack a day, I'd just go ahead and quit. I smoked half a pack a day and I did it cold turkey. The doc never said anything about me doing it that way.

Answer 7

I completely understand your concern, and I agree that giving it up entirely would be best for the both of you. I gave birth to a 7 pound, 8 1/2 ounce son 26 years ago. I was told the same thing by my doctor. I never really gave up smoking. But he always had a nice strong heart beat, and he didn't end up with a low birth weight. He is now 6'2", 180 pounds, and is in the Air Force. He suffered no ill affects from it at all. And to top it all off, he didn't become a smoker himself.

Answer 8

The doctor is right, you should not just quit cold turkey it will stress you out and thats not good for the baby. The doctor told me the same thing with my 1st child, and he is now 3 and VERY healthy.

Answer 9

I quit cold turkey when I found out at 11 weeks. There were no changes with the baby, and he was delivered completely healthy. I say quit now!

Answer 10

I was a smoker and when I found out I was pregnant I just quit cold turkey. It was hard but I think it would have been harder to just cut down. My child had no problems. The farther along your pregnancy goes the more damaging smoking will become to your baby.