Smoking and breastfeeding

[amy524]

My best friend had her dd on April 30 (just five days after my little one!)  She is breastfeeding but has also started smoking again.  She says that she only smokes 2-3 cigarettes per day. She says, and I have also read, that as long as you smoke 1-2 hours before breastfeeding that most of the harmful stuff is out of your milk by then. I am concerned for the baby but all of the literature that I can find about it says it only poses a real threat to the baby (fusiness, restlessness, colic) if you smoke a pack or more a day.  Obviously, there still has to be some danger?  Does anyone know any information about this?  I realize it is none of my business and I am not trying to meddle, I am just curious.

[lib and jrs mom]

you should ask your friend if she would stick her baby in a smoke filled room.  then ask her why she is feeding it to her baby.  i'm not trying to be judgemental, i know smoking is a very hard habit to break.  but EVERYTHING is in the breast milk.  it may not hurt the baby but imagine how bad that milk tastes.  2 cigarettes a day may not HURT the baby, but it is definitely not good to do while nursing.
when i was nursing my daughter i ate cheddar quesadilla tostitos.  you know when i pumped milk later that night i was able to smell the chips in the milk.

[familybugs]

All I can say is how disappointing!

Theres not much you can do. People know ciggies are bad, but do it anyway. I just feel sorry for the baby cause they can't speak and say... eww mom you stink, or i can't breathe...

[familybugs]

lib and jrs mom is right! That happend to me when i would pump. I couldn't eat pinneapple cause it made my dd spit up like crazy! No matter what you put into your body while breastfeeding it comes out in the milk!

[baby4Staci]

I am a child of a smoking breast feeding mother.. and i am fine.  My mom only breast fed me for the first 2 months.  If your friend cant help it, then she cant help it.  Nicotine is the most addictive drug out at this time.  As long as she isnt breast feeding and smoking at the same time, her baby will be ok.. also as long as she doesnt smoke around the baby (that bothers me).  

I hope she can be strong and quit while she breast feeds, but her baby will be fine (hopefully) if she doesnt.

Best of luck to her!

[Adevotee]

did she quit smoking while pregnant? why would she pick it up again if she had quit for 9 months. This makes no sense to me.

[2songbirds]

The only concern I would have is if she's washing her hands afterwards. Plus the nicotine and stuff lingers on clothes as well. Something to think about is that some breastfeeding mothers have an occasional drink. They say for that it takes 1-2 hrs I think for every drink you have to leave your body.   My DH smokes, outside of course, so I'm really particular about hygiene and smoking.

[amand221]

Everyone that I know that smoked right up till they got pregnant and quit b/c of the pregnancy, started smoking again within 6  months to a year after the baby was born.  I think they must have felt like they weren't ready to quit but they quit for the sake of their baby, and not for themselves...so after the baby was born, it was a lot easier to go back to it.  (Just a thought as to why this person possibly went back to it after 9 months)

[ateague]

What I have been told is that if you drink or smoke while breastfeeding, you need to pump at least 2 hours before you feed your baby and throw out the "contaminated" milk.  If you don't smoke during those 2 hours, it will not be present in the milk, but that's what I've been told by my doc.  I've been craving a margarita ever since I got pregnant and my doc told me this for when the baby gets here if I do decide to have one.  He said it applies for smokers too, which I am not.

[2songbirds]

I'm the same way. I was a heavy smoker for almost 10 years and quit when I found out I was pg with my dd almost 3 1/2 years ago now. I had to use the patch to quit. But the cravings never stop. I've become an occasional smoker now. I started back up again after my ds was born 8 months ago. It just happens. Stress, cravings, release. I however don't smoke in the house, actually only when I'm at work. I hate the smell of it on my clothes.

[toyml99]

I QUIT COLD TURKEY THE DAY I TOOK MY PG TEST.  WAS ALOT EASIER TO QUIT FOR SOMEONE'S ELSES SAKE THAN MINE.  ANYWHO, I STILL DO THINGS WITH MY FRIENDS...WE SOMETIMES SIT ON THE DECK AND HAVE DRINKS....(I HAVE ROOT BEER) AND SOME OF THEM SMOKE.  SOMETIMES IT IRRITATES ME WHEN IT BLOWS MY WAY.  BUT OTHER TIMES, I IMAGINE MY NEXT ONE.  WHO KNOWS WHAT WILL HAPPEN I AM SURE I WILL HAVE ANOTHER ONE...JUST NOT SURE IF WILL BECOME A FULL TIME SMOKER AGAIN.

[cutiemama]

If your friend can't or won't quit, she should consult DD's pediatrician and ask what is better for baby: 1) to smoke and breastfeed or to smoke and switch to formula. Somehow I think that if she's only smoking a couple of cigarettes a day that baby's still benefitting more from the breastmilk but I'm not a doctor so I'm not sure.

[BlueBirdSchless]

Of course there is the obviouse side effect to nicotine. Cancer. It's no big deal cause it's miles away. But what if her child develops cancer at say... age five. Could she possibly deny that might have been the cause. But who thinks about that kind of stuff anyway. What about RSV or SIDS? These are all known side effects to smoking while pg! I would say to take the same precations while bfing cause just like the placenta is not a filter, breast are not filters! It takes 72 hour for your body to be 100% nicotine free, not two! After that the cravings are all self induced. This is what I found online:
***Studies indicate that smoking increases the risk of a lower milk supply and early weaning.

Some vegetables contain nicotine. Consider limiting your intake of eggplant, green and pureed tomatoes, and cauliflower if you smoke.

Smoke immediately after breastfeeding to cut down on the amount of nicotine in your milk during nursing. Wait as long as possible between smoking and nursing.

Others may be able to smell smoke in your expressed milk. Your baby’s urine may have levels of cotinine (a product of nicotine) that are several times higher than the levels in formula-fed babies of mothers who smoke. How can milk like that be better for your baby than formula? Your milk still contains living cells and other germ-killing substances that help protect your baby from disease, nutrients that are known to promote brain development and hormones that help your baby’s digestive and immune systems develop normally. Formula has none of these.

So even if you find you can’t quit or cut back, remember that breastfeeding your baby is still the most important investment you can make in you and your baby’s health.*

I still think it's wrong, tommarow another study will be done and we already know there is nothing good for us in a cigarette, aside from our pleasure, which shows more love for self than for the child!!!

[Wanting]

Smoking around the baby is worse than breast feeding the baby after smoking.  Have you seen all the awareness lately about second-hand smoke?  It is worsse to be a second hand smoker than a smoker.  You can cause enfazema and even lung cancer to those you smoke around on a daily basis.  A non smoker is more of a victim than the smoker themselves.
I really hope that your friend does not smoke aroung her baby. That is the worst thing she could do to him/her.

[AndiJ78]

My doc, who also has a degree in pharmacology and toxicology, said he would rather a mother take the precautions with smoking and nursing (smoke outdoors, wear and smoking jacket, wash hands, smoke after nursing session) than see them wean to formula.

As the post from bluebird points out, there is nicotine in plenty of other things than cigarettes. In fact, most people, even non-smokers, have detectable amounts of nicotine in their system even if they are never around a smoker. Is that to say that people should not nurse at all because the risk is there? Cancer doesn't come from nicotine, it comes from the other elements in cigarette smoke, most of which are not passed through the breastmilk.

I say if she is smoking a few cigarettes a day she is fine as long as she is doing the above things mentioned in the first paragraph.


Andi

[mimik]

Smoking is a choice....As a mother I WOULD NOT choose to expose my child to something that has been proven harmful. In my opinion I think it is selfish for a mother to choose to smoke while pregnant or breastfeeding. I know that many Doctors stess the fact that Adults should not be smoking....so why would it be ok to pass it on to their children??? Are there any positive side effects of smoking besides getting your fix?? When I see a pregnant woman or a mom smoking around there child,I feel sick. They are so irresponsable. Im sure your friend knows all this.

[JJety]

Well said.  I agree!

[nowherechild]

I'll tell you this; what makes ME sick is to watch someone mix formula and feed that to the baby.

But that's only my opinion.  Everyone has their own way of doing things.  Some of my best friends were bottle fed so I guess they turned out ok.

Sticky happy baby dust to all!

[BlueBirdSchless]

I agree!

[2songbirds]

are we talking about smoking here or breastfeeding? Both of my babies were/are formula fed because my body cannot produce milk. Yes it happens, and is uncommon. I know my aunt had the same problem. Something goes wrong with the hormones, and BELIEVE ME I TRIED. I was a little offended by that last remark!!

[mgi]

I have a friend who is on a research team at the Childern's hospital.  They have mom's who smoke or even who have smoked - pump and they analyze the milk.  Let me tell you this two days is not enough to clear that out of your system!!!!

you can go to their website and view some of their preliminary findings

[ateague]

I still for the life of me don't understand why there is such controversy over whether to breastfeed or bottlefeed. (Besides, that's not even the topic here).  Why would anyone care whether other children are breastfed or drinking formula?  As long as they're getting the proper nutrition, it shouldn't matter.  There has been no proven medical benefit of breastfeeding vs. bottlefeeding, so let's not turn this into that kind of discussion.  To each her own, let's move on.

[BlueBirdSchless]

No medical evidence? It's at your finger tips.

[ateague]

On another note, I have a degree in Horticulture and nicotine does not cause the cancer.  It is a natural chemical produced by plants as a secondary defense against bugs who may be feeding on the plant.  It does not kill the bug, but merely disorients it.  Nicotine is not the culprit you want to keep out of your baby's milk, it's all the other **** in there (arsenic, formeldehyde, tar, etc.)  I have read articles saying unless the mother smokes 20 cigarettes a day, the breastmilk should be fine.  I don't agree with mother's smoking while breastfeeding or around children at all for that matter, but it happens.

[ateague]

What I'm saying is that there are tons of people out there (and on here) that have been bottlefed and turn out just fine.  I was never breastfed and not because my mother couldn't, she just chose not to.  Same with my brother, we are both perfectly healthy and if it makes both of you sick to think of my mother making formula instead of breastfeeding us than that's fine.  But you don't know the situations of others for why they don't breastfeed and I think it was a very rude statement, beside the fact that it wasn't the topic of discussion originally posted here anyway.

[corykis okay]

I agree, its the womans choice to do what she wants! And every situation is different as every baby is also. I know breastfed babies and formula fed babies that all act the same, walk the same, talk, the same!

[davidg]

I dont smoke but my wife smokes.. She said that she didnt smoke while pregant. but i seen her a few times . she said that she wouldnot do it anymore...but she did....We had are baby 6weeks early.she is ok. both are ok.. My wife is breast feeding now...I seen her smoke again...It hurts so to see her do this to are baby.. she agagin sayes she wont smoke anymore...