Diet and Health FAQ

Tagged As: Pregnancy Advice

Question:
My best friend is currently 18 weeks pregnant and cannot give up her 20 a day smoking habit. Can you please offer me some advise on any safe ways she can give up? Have any of you noticed any adverse effect on your new borns that you feel may be down to smoking?? Or has anyone heard conflicting advice? Some doctors say it is just better to cut down rather than give up?

Answer:
Research has found smoking to be associated with low birthweight babies (who are more likely to suffer a variety of complications), an increased risk of cleft lip/palate, conduct disorders in children, three times the risk of SIDS, ectopic pregnancy, preterm birth, stillbirth, asthma, neural tube defects, etc. (and those are just associated with smoking during pregnancy--smoking afterwards intensifies some risks and adds others). That's a fairly long and scary list (and probably not comprehensive). It's not guaranteed that babies of smokers will have all (or even any) of these problems, but the risks are significantly increased for all of these problems. I have never found *any* reputable advice suggesting that it isn't better to stop smoking all together, though obviously if that's not possible, cutting down is better than nothing. It's entirely understandable that quitting or cutting down may be terribly difficult--perhaps even more so *because* she's pregnant. Still, it's a worthy goal, and any success she can have is likely to be beneficial. As far as safe ways to quit, my guess would be that just about *any* method would be appropriate, but she should probably discuss that with her doctor or midwife. A friend also just couldn't quit. She tried during both pregnancies and cut way down, but started shaking and getting really sick when she tried to quit. Her doctor recommended cutting down as much as possible. Both of her sons are fine and were normal weight. OTOH, both were born early and have had much more frequent colds and other illnesses as babies. As well, both were colicky, but I don't know if that's related. It's not an optimal solution no matter what you do. I remember reading somewhere, but don't remember where, that the stress of quitting can actually be equally unhealthy on a baby, so cutting down is sometimes the better option. (Yes, I know. The best option is to quit before conceiving, but sometimes it's too late for that.) The most important thing is that she receive non-judgemental support throughout her pregnancy. Although her caregiver should know that she's smoking and encourage her to find healthier practices, he/she should not chastise her at every visit for continuing to smoke. my mother had her last cigarette on the way to the hosp. to have me :) This was 41 years ago, before they knew how bad it was for you. AFAIK, she didn't have any problems with me - colicky, or otherwise. I weighed 7# 14 oz, so weight wasn't an issue either. I'm still in fairly good health, so no adverse effects that I know of :)