The Student Room Group

Smoking when pregnant.

Pretty pointless thread but I feel like I need to vent my anger. I saw a very heavily pregnant young girl smoking yesterday and just felt like headbutting her. Thoughts? Anyone smoke when pregnant, know people who did, side effects and so on? Whats wrong with these vile, selfish people? Don't get me wrong, I smoke so that's not even the issue - it's just the fact that you're risking the health of someone who only has you to rely on :s-smilie:

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I hate seeing things like that, too :-(
But doctors sometimes say that having the occasional cigarette is less harmful to the baby than the stress you'd suffer if you tried to give up. I don't know how true that is, having never smoked, but I like to think that if I did smoke, I would have given up as soon as I found out I was pregnant. Should be motivation enough, really.
Reply 2
Original post by Gemma :)!
I hate seeing things like that, too :-(
But doctors sometimes say that having the occasional cigarette is less harmful to the baby than the stress you'd suffer if you tried to give up. I don't know how true that is, having never smoked, but I like to think that if I did smoke, I would have given up as soon as I found out I was pregnant. Should be motivation enough, really.


I actually never thought about it from that perspective before, but still, I'd rather go through hell needing a fag then taking the risk. Exactly as you say, it shouldn't even be an issue when you fall pregnant. Some people ayyy :rolleyes:
My mum actually smoked through all 3 of her pregnancies.
I was quite shocked when i found out. xD
Reply 4
Original post by DesignFreak
My mum actually smoked through all 3 of her pregnancies.
I was quite shocked when i found out. xD


Really? Were there any detremental effects to you or your siblings? I think in general it means the baby is smaller when its born.
Original post by DiZZeeKiD
Really? Were there any detremental effects to you or your siblings? I think in general it means the baby is smaller when its born.

Not that i know of, my two brother are dyslexic, but i doubt that would have anything to do with the smoking.
Reply 6
Original post by DiZZeeKiD
Pretty pointless thread but I feel like I need to vent my anger. I saw a very heavily pregnant young girl smoking yesterday and just felt like headbutting her. Thoughts? Anyone smoke when pregnant, know people who did, side effects and so on? Whats wrong with these vile, selfish people? Don't get me wrong, I smoke so that's not even the issue - it's just the fact that you're risking the health of someone who only has you to rely on :s-smilie:


I think it would be difficult for a woman if she found otu she was pregnant and abruptly quit, having said that its not uncommon for me to see pregnant women smoking still, I dont agree with it at all because of the harm it can cause an unborn child and the fact that birth weights are a lot lower in those babies whose mothers smoked during the pregnancy(although I would be willign to bet that those are heavy smokers). Personally I would think they were selfish if they didnt try to give up smokin g while pregnant, but if a woman gave in to her craving say once a week, i dont think that would do the baby long lasting harm.
My mum didnt smoke with me and not much with my brother but with my sister she smoke and drank alcohol as well :/

and i dont know if its genetics or something but you can see the difference, my sister is smaller than all of us and also alot louder, this is a bit mean but she also isnt as smart as the rest of us.

I do believe smoking and even more so drinking is a very selfish act when pregnant, especially if the baby is planned, you should be cutting down or quitting while trying to conceive :/
Reply 8
My mum smoked through mine and my 5 siblings pregnancies and there's nothing wrong with us :s-smilie: We are all quite small though, but maybe that's due to my mum being 5'2 and my dad 5'3 :rolleyes: It's not that I'm saying it's right or anything but what actually are the side effects supposed to be anyways?
Smoking and (heavily) drinking are bad enough when it's just you, but when there's another human growing inside you? If there's any risk of damage, the mother should do the right thing. How selfish.

EDIT: negged? really?
(edited 13 years ago)
ive heard smoking while pregnant is bad but like i was told that if u smoked in ur teenage years or generally if ur female and u smoke it is more likely u get a miscarriage i dont know if its common though? ...:s-smilie:
Cigarettes are lame.

Maybe she likes dwarves.


:awesome:
Reply 13
I didn't smoke while pregnant I had given up already.
My mum tried not to smoke while preg with my brother but smoked with me and my sister and we are both fine. I have asthma but I don't know if that's from her smoking or not. Oddly enough, I was the only one of the three who was breastfed and I am also the only one who has asthma, something which being breastfed supposedly decreases the likelihood of.
Not that smoking is a good thing in pregnancy. I know a lot of people who do though and people use the "it's more stress to quit" to carry on smoking 20 a day which isn't what doctors mean. Cutting down to just a couple a day is less stress than quitting altogether, it's not meant as an invitation to smoke as much as usual because "it's too much stress otherwise". Isn't the stress of worrying if you are hurting your baby by filling it's undeveloped lungs with all that crap enough to make you quit anyway?!
I hate seeing clearly pregnant people smoking, although tbf they do the most damage to their unborn while you can't tell they're pregnant and it's lungs and everything are still developing
Having said all that mind you, I don't know anyone who smoked while pregnant whose kids have any problems
Reply 14
Original post by DiZZeeKiD
Pretty pointless thread but I feel like I need to vent my anger. I saw a very heavily pregnant young girl smoking yesterday and just felt like headbutting her. Thoughts? Anyone smoke when pregnant, know people who did, side effects and so on? Whats wrong with these vile, selfish people? Don't get me wrong, I smoke so that's not even the issue - it's just the fact that you're risking the health of someone who only has you to rely on :s-smilie:


i agree with OP. it's selfish. probably one of the worst things that can happen is SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome), which results in still born babies. :mad:
Reply 15
It knocks me sick seeing pregnant women smoke. They should be ashamed of themselves!
Reply 16
Original post by Gemma :)!
I hate seeing things like that, too :-(
But doctors sometimes say that having the occasional cigarette is less harmful to the baby than the stress you'd suffer if you tried to give up. I don't know how true that is, having never smoked, but I like to think that if I did smoke, I would have given up as soon as I found out I was pregnant. Should be motivation enough, really.


i've never really thought about that. but tbh, isnt it worse to subject the unborn baby to cigarettes, which have atleast 69 carcinogens (cancer causing chemicals) plus a whole lot of other crap than just stress because of the mother's addiction?
Reply 17
Lots of pregnant women smoke, but some just do it indoors to hide it, whereas some do it on the street for everyone to comment on.

Of course its bad for the baby and Im sure all expectant mothers are aware of this, but we cant force people to quit.
Reply 18
Original post by ash92:)
i agree with OP. it's selfish. probably one of the worst things that can happen is SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome), which results in still born babies. :mad:


SIDS and a stillborn baby are not the same thing.
Original post by ash92:)
i agree with OP. it's selfish. probably one of the worst things that can happen is SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome), which results in still born babies. :mad:


Your are right but SIDS and stillbirth are too different things. Smoking can cause both leading to babies dying in the womb where the mother smokes during pregnancy, and smoking aroudn the baby by anyone in close contact/in the same house as them can also be a leading contributor to SIDS :smile:

Yes smoking while pregnant isn't good like lots of things its a big risk, you can often see that the mother is a smoker jsut by looking at the placenta, it doen't look as healthy as it should and it has calcifications - metal deposits on it- you can just see the effect it must have had on giving the baby everything it needs.
That said at the end of the day it all about choice, like it or lump it that baby has no rights till it comes out and you could do a lot worse then smoke a couple of cigs a day!

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