smoking in pregnancy

[alex2005]

sorry to post here, but here goes,
ive herad how bad it is to smoke in pregnancy, but can it really cause a m/c? i have cut down to one or two a day, but have had terrible headaches, along with more mood swings (i feel sorry for my partner!)
i know i need to stop and hearing from other people who have, and how they did it would really help.
thanks alex xx

[kimmie_n_angus]

LP is luteal phase defect.....but you would have never made it that long if you had it. you should be good and the depo should be out of you at this point. CONGRATS!!! i can't wait to get my BFP too:)

love....kimmie

[alex2005]

sorry to be stupid but what is a LP? been off depro for over 2 years now, am currently nearly 7 weeks pregnant and am worried. thanks for the help xxx

[alex2005]

not actively trying for a bay, but after m/c didnt use protection, did cut down i when got pregnant first time, and stayed smoking only a few a day since then.

[jluhart]

Were you smoking and trying to have a baby?

[kimmie_n_angus]

it took me 18 mos as well to get 'normal' again. as long as your luteal phase is normal....12-14 days long....then the risk of m/c is low. the last one was probably depo related....causes abnormal progesterone levels in the body for the first 12-18 mos off of it....which leads to m/c. once that 18 mos mark has passed and your cycle have a LP of 12-14 days all should be good. my LP is 7-11 days long so i had to be put on progesterone from 'o' till 12weeks PG....but now i won't m/c from the progesterone deficiencey. hope this helps and you get a BFP.

love....kimmie

[alex2005]

thanks for the info! your always so helpful to everyone and i thankyou from the bottom of my heart for that. i feel reassured that cutting down is the best thing to do now, rather than the cold turkey, the days i tried it last week were a nightmare! one questoin slighlty off the subject about depro, when i came off depro it took 18 months or so to have a proper period again, i read that depro can cause m/c (i dont know if mine was depro related), just wondering if you knew how likely it would be to have another m/c, evne though my periods returned with no medical intervention? you did answer my post on depro a while ago, but just wanted some more info! thanks for all your help, love and baby dust sent out to you xx

[kimmie_n_angus]

i smoked and had a 9 lb baby...he is almost 9 now. he very rarely gets sick, he is advanced academically...even moved a grade ahead. he is active in sports and is amazing...captain of the soccar team, 1st baseman of his baseball team. he is taller than most kids....in the 100th percentile, 65 lbs, lean and healthy. smoking is most detrimental in the last trimester when the lungs are maturing. the more you smoke during the 2nd trimester the harder the placenta has to work to filter it from the baby....and some can leak through. by cutting down ...if you can't completely quit....the placenta can filter out the carcinogens more efficiently. i am in your shoes as well....i have been cutting down every week so that i will have quit or will be almost done smoking when i do get PG. it is hard to quit and it causes stress on the body if you do it cold turkey which can cause you to m/c or not 'o'....that is what my doc says. he also says iff TTCing or PG you can't use the patch, nicotine inhaler, or other smoking agents....it is actually worse than smoking for the baby. my doc suggests seeing how much you smoke per day...and every week cutting out 1-2 cigg/day. this helps you quit in a less stressfull and less noticable way.

love....kimmie

[alex2005]

thankyou all for your replies. i thought i would be hated for admitting to still having the odd one! its refreshing to know that those of you who did smoke can admit it (im sure you all know how frowned apon it is!) i agree that cutting down is the best first step, with the aim of stopping.
its currently 14:26 and have yet to smoke, we'll see what happens later! who'd have thought it would be so hard!
i'll keep you posted on my progress. going to the docs tom (still very paranoid about my m/c), fingers crossed everything is ok this time. love to you all xx

[poetgirl1979]

I know it CAN cause problems. My mom smoked, but cut WAY back with my brother. He is a healthy 13 year old now. Born on time, weighed a little over 8lbs. BUT I would suggest quitting ASAP. Also, don't go cold turkey if it's too hard, taper off...but at least try. God bless!!! =D

[kimmie_n_angus]

i smoked with my first and it took me 5 mos to quit....i had a 9 lb baby and he was perfectly healthy. doc reccomend quitting by tapering off to not stress out your body like you have been doing. i hope this helps.

love....kimmie

[troid]

i'm probably going to be the most hated person on this board but here goes....i tried really really hard to quit while i was pregnant....i was unable to i smoked about a pack per pay with both of my pregnancies. my first son was born at 37 weeks 7lbs10oz 20 inches long. my second son was born 5 days early and was 8lbs 1oz 22 inches long. other than the sniffles and 1 case of croup with my youngest son, neither of them have had any difficulties(yet)not one earache,no asthma,birth weight was healthy. i'm not saying smoking during pregnancy is a good thing, but my boys may be the lucky ones.if you can quit, that would be awesome, but i know it's extremely hard, and i think the 1 or 2 you have per day probably isnt so bad,but still the best thing for you to do is try your hardest.good luck

[Stacie30]

i thing there have been studies that show it does and studies that show it doesn't so I don't think there is anything conclusive out there to go by. of course the optimum thing would be to not smoke at all but if you can't do that cutting back is the next best thing.

[Nicole24]

Smoking can cause certain disorders in the baby. I would suggest quitting ASAP. I stopped smoking about 2 years ago. It was one of the best things I could've done for myself. I tried the Quest cigarettes. They taste really bad, so everytime you want to smoke you think of the Quest cigarettes and don't want to have another one. Go to this website for more info http://www.pregnancy.com.au/smoking_in_pregnancy.htm

Hope this helps!!!

-Nicole

[Still a mom]

I do not smoke and don't like to be around anyone that is smoking, but when my friend was pregnant she smoked. Her doctor told her that while smoking was unhealthy for her and her baby, that if she were to totally stop cold turkey that it could throw her system out of whack. He told her to gradually taper them off, and if she could not stop(which she didn't) that the next best thing would be to get it down to just a couple. If you can not stop don't feel bad. It is hard to stop and at least you are making an effort. I know that smoking can cause harm to a baby, but so can a mommy that is going crazy. I applaud you for cutting back and if you can try to stop before or possibly after the baby is born.
Mandi

[oceans3]

i just would like to add that some people who smoke during pregnancy go on to boast or be relieved that their baby came out nice and healthy w. little or no problems. its long term that you need to consider as well. they are NOT always "in the clear" just because he/she wasnt born w. low birth weight. when they (the children) get older, they may have academic issues, developmental concerns or other.. that reveal itself later on and be attributed to cigarette smoking while pregnant. same goes for doing drugs, alcohol.

[kimmie_n_angus]

also from most studies....drinking caffinated beverages while PG does MORE harm to a fetus than smoking.

quit when and if you can and talk to your doctor about your options. it better to not smoke for you and your baby. but many woman who can't quit go to have healthy babies. do you best w/o stressing your body to quit...1-2 ciggs a day, sounds like you are getting there quickly and i applaud your efforts....keep going and i know you will be cigg free in no time!!!:)

love.....kimmie

[jluhart]

Effects of smoking while pregnant


Smoking in pregnancy can affect your baby, not just before birth, but also in the future. Here are some of the effects of smoking while pregnant.


Smoking raises the levels of carbon monoxide in your bloodstream. This reduces the amount of oxygen available to your baby.

When you smoke, harmful chemicals reach your baby.

Nicotine constricts the blood vessels on your side of the placenta, which means oxygen is passed over less effectively to the baby.

The result is the baby grows less well than he might have done, and he'll be born lighter than otherwise. This might make a great difference to his health at birth.

There are also effects on brain development and on the general health of your baby, which have been shown to last into childhood, and even beyond. There is also a great deal of evidence that men who smoke when their partners are pregnant also affect the baby's health - whether or not the woman smokes herself.