Smoking and Pregnancy

Quitting is best, but if she finds that she cannot quit completely, she should cut back as much as possible. Quitting will NOT put stress on the baby. In fact, the harmful effects of smoking to a fetus are way worse than the stress of quitting. When I got pregnant with my oldest son, I was able to quit completely. A friend of mine and my husband's sister-in-law were both unable to quit. One cut back, the other kept smoking like she always had. Both children had lower than average birth weights and their arms and legs looked abnormally thin. My friend's daughter is almost 4 now and my nephew is almost 3. Both children are completely healthy. The best advice is for her to talk to her doctor and be completely honest about her smoking. It was harder for me to quit with my third child because I had a three year old and a six month old when I got pregnant. I did quit with all three of my children, but resumed after they were born. Quitting is harder than most people think, so she'll need a lot of support. Especially if she feels guilty about smoking while pregnant.

I would say that it would be better to just quit all together. I smoked for 11 years and I quit when I got pregnant. It was kind of hard, but I did it for my baby. My little girl is 3 now and I never started smoking again.

When I found out that I was pregnant I quit cold turkey (OMG)! By my second tri-mester I started back up like on idiot. I didn't smoke a whole lot 1 or 2 a day. towards my third tri-mester I tried to stop again. I did okay but I would slip sometimes. With me having health problems I really needed to quit, but I am telling you it is very hard especially when everyone around you smokes including your husband (which is NO excuse for me). I had a very health little girl but I was lucky also, I am not saying that she will not be lucky to. If you see your friend smoke don't look at her funny or make little comments about it because I PROMISE you it will make her feel a lot worse about it and stress her out more. Just stay being a great friend to her and support her the best that you can. Good Luck!

She definatly needs to quit for both her sake and the baby's. I am saying this as a former smoker so hear me out . . . I suggest that she quits a quickly as possible, but not to do it cold turkey - that could put a lot of stess on the baby as well. So if she smokes a half a pack a day she should try to cut down by one a day or every couple of days - her body will adjust to the lower levels quickly.
I wish her luck!!

Just quit - cutting back is still pumping nicotine into the baby's system at a critical phase of development. The stress of quitting is not nearly as hard on the baby as it on the mother, and it's still better than the poisoning of continuing to smoke.
When I found out I was pregnant with my daughter, I was a chain-smoker (almost 3 packs a day) and I drank at least 2 pots of Cajun coffee (so strong it walks from the pot to the cup by itself) every day, and I quit both simutaneously cold turkey. I wasn't much fun for my friends, family, or co-workers to be around for a few weeks, but they knew what was going on and were very supportive.

Its best to quit. My friend is 6 months pregnant and just found out that her baby has kidney damage and now has downs syndrome from smoking. I advise that she quit ASAP.

Well, without a doubt it will be difficult to quit. Think about the baby though! My mother smoked when she was pregnant with me! I was born early and at a low birth weight, even for 35 weeks. Also, I have suffered with severe asthma all of my life! I am not going to get on a soapbox and I am not interested in debating anyone on this issue, but I feel it would be in the best interest for both of them if she were to quit smoking period!

I smoked while I was pregnant. My doctor told me at the beginning of my pregnancy to quit smoking and if I didn't quit, to at least cut it down to 10 cigarettes per day. I cut it down to 10, but made sure that I drank plenty of water, juice, ate right, and walked a lot. When I was 7 months pregnant, I quit smoking for a week and told my doctor that all of a sudden I was emotional and not feeling right. He told me that we were going through withdrawals and it was too late to just quit cold turkey. I started smoking again, cutting back more. My son weighed 10 lbs. and 7 oz. He was and is very healthy.
Since her pregnancy has just began, if she can quit now, that would be ideal..but she really should try to cut back and eat right. Water, green veggies, and juice are so important when you are pregnant. I had the perfect pregnancy too, no complications or swelling.

I hate to even admit it but I smoked the whole time I was pregnant. My doctor would tell me every appointment the impotance of quitting. When he realized that wasn't going to happen he told me cutting back was better than nothing. The last 2 months, between stress at work, stress in personal life & just being pregnant & hormones changing) I think I smoked more than before I got pregnant. Although after I started showing I wouldn't smoke in public because I was embarrassed about it. I would tell your friend from personal experience do what she feels because for me quitting smoking put more stress on me and was probably a health hazard to other people around me. The hormones were so bad towards the end someone could look at me and I would cry. But I had a healthy 7 lb 3 oz baby girl who is now 5 months old & still very healthy.

I would definitely see the doctor right away and ask for medical advice. Even if you just call your normal practicioner for advice, I would do that if you can't see the doctor now. The doctor may have specific help for her that our general help wouldn't be appropriate. I have heard of some mothers having a severe reaction to cold turkey quitting and others that havent'. It's best to talk to your doctor who will know more about your specific medical history etc.

my aim was to quit cold turkey, though it didn't always quite go that way. the first time i quit easily cos it made me naeusous. she needs to start off by quitting buying them. i could never just thrown them away. but it needed to happen fast to cut out the habit. it is important that her partner not smoke around her or have cigarettes available, and not to poke her about it. my observations and feeling is that it is worse for the baby in the earlier stages, and generally it affects healthy birthweight and will make the pregnancy more unpleasant. ironically, when she starts showing, it would be harder to smoke and to purchase them. it is a very personal decision though. most ladies are able to quit with the reason of avoiding future regret concerning the baby's health. sometimes this is where an early ultrasound can help a future mamma understand. i always rationalized that i could pick it back up when i was an older woman. not very healthy of course, but that is my human nature. good luck to both of ya.

just quit. i smoked for ten years before my pregnancy and went cold turkey as soon as i found out i was pregnant. if she tries to say she can't it's just excuses.

She should just quit smoking. The concern for her baby should be enough for her to be able to quit smoking. My mom smoked while preg with me and I had asthma very bad as a child. Even spent a couple nights in hospital due to severe attacks. It is a very seriour thing, smoking while preg. I pray that she will have all the courage and support she needs to do this!

Tell her to quit smoking completely! Smoke is so bad for babies, even a little bit. Also, you should tell her to talk with her obgyn, as they may have some advice.

Hi there L.,

Yes, you will probably get a lot of responses with this one. I think everybody will agree she needs to quit, whether or not they agree on how she does it. The truth is quitting is a personal choice and everybody has their own personal way of doing things. When I smoked, I didn't smoke much so it was easier for me to quit cold turkey. I can understand that somebody else may have better luck cutting down before they quit though. A great resource is www.Way2Quit.com. She can go there and answer some questions and they will help her make a plan for quitting. That way she is prepared and can look at several options.

I just want to say that it's great that you are such a caring friend! Many people don't have that. Quitting smoking is hard and it may be a little easier for her with a friend like you to support her. :)

Good luck to you!

C. Smith
www.enhanceyourwayoflife.com

At 16 I got pregnant, and the nurse at the health unit told me that I shouldn't quit but to cutback due to the stressful time I had ahead of me, having to tell my mom I was pregnant. Needless to say that didn't turn out well. Mom was MAD!!! I am now 29 and have a 4 yr. old. daughter which I smoked throughout the entire pregnancy. I was so sick all the time 24/7, that I was stressed out pretty bad due to not knowing if I'd be able to hold my next meal down or even a drink of water. My doctor told me on every visit that I needed to quit because it could cause problems in my pregnancy, but I just couldn't. Sometimes smoking a cigarette would help settle my stomache long enough to eat a small snack and get a little bit of something in my system. I would tell your friend to cutback at first and then if possible quit. If not just be careful, her baby could turn out just fine or with a lot of medical problems. Know one can be sure each time.

Most people will say QUIT! but honestly those people probably don't know how hard it can be. I would say to judge that by how much she smokes and how badly she reacts when she can't have a cigarette. Now the truth of the matter is that smoking DOES cause harm to the baby...sometimes it's minor and other times it's severe but quitting is ideal. If she's struggling with the addiction she should try Nicorette.... I find that it really helped me get over the withdrawal symptoms and helped keep my stress level down. Also have her call 1-800-QUITNOW.
They will give you tons of information and also set you up with a counselor to help get you through some of the harder times. Good luck and let your friend know that quitting is best but if she absolutely can't that cutting down (significantly) is better than nothing.

Hi L. :)

I was still smoking when I became pregnant with my first child. The moment I found out I was pregnant, I lost ALL interest in smoking. I didn't even have withdrawls. My baby, my baby's health and love for my baby was all that mattered to me.
That being said, it's hard for me to imagine anyone contemplating continuing smoking while pregnant, but maybe her body just needs to quit gradually over a couple weeks?

M.

Healthwise, I think the quitting would help the baby more, but cutting back and quitting, would help mom and baby.

Everyone has a different opinion about this topic. In my circumstance, I didn't want to chance having any problems with my pregnancy so I quit cold turkey and never returned. However, my younger sister has had two children and she smoked with both of them whole term. No complications came of the births. It's a choice your friend is going to have to make on her own.

I honestly feel you should do what's best for your unborn child. Everything you eat, the baby eats. Everything you drink, the baby drinks. So everything you smoke...that's my opinion. Hope I was able to help.

God Bless & Give you wisdom.

to be honest, it took me almost 2 months into my pregnancy to quit smoking completely. our daughter was a surprise, so i had not planned to quit because of a pregnancy. i cut back in the beginning, and just weaned myself off gradually over those next couple of months. my daughter is now a happy, healthy 6 year old. no asthma, bronchitis, or learning disorders. i'm no doctor, but i think if your friend quits within the 1st trimester, she'll be fine. but tell her to talk to her doc about it. he/she may be able to help her find a way to quit faster.

Just quit! I am pregnant with my second child. I smoked until I found out I was pregnant the first time. I just couldn't bring myself to smoke with a baby inside me. All I could think was how is the baby going to get the proper amount of oxygen. I smoked a lot, and I did it just fine. It was hard the first day or two. I just replaced it with running around looking at baby stuff! Good luck!