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 Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 2:22 pm
I haven't been able to find an answer online, and I don't see my doctor until tomorrow. I'm just curious, I've been smoking for 5 years. I found out I might be pregnant. (I went to the clinic yesterday, and the test came back with a VERY faint positive. She said it was most likely accurate, but to come back Monday for a second test.)
I will plan to quit asap, but I've also heard the baby will go through withdrawal as well if I quit cold-turkey. I just want to make sure that if I am pregnant, I don't do anything to harm the baby. Is this true? If so, is the withdrawal harmful in any way?
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Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 2:34 pm
I wouldn't quit cold turkey, I would gradually remove cigarettes from your life. The withdrawals wouldn't be dangerous or anything, to my knowledge but it would put a lot of stress on you which in turn is bad for the baby.
This is a very good step and choice to make not only for your baby, but also your general health.
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Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 2:45 pm
Okay, thank you. I have been gradually reducing my intake the past month, even before there was a chance of being pregnant. I'm down to maybe 6 cigarettes a day versus a pack I used to smoke only 3 months ago. There is tons of information about smoking while pregnant, but nothing about the withdrawal while quitting. I just wanted to make sure, so thanks again. smile
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Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 3:05 pm
Smoking during (and even before) pregnancy can cause a wide variety of health problems for your unborn baby. Withdrawal can be tough, but quitting immediately is generally recommended when babies are in the picture. Because while the stress of quitting might not be great, it is probably better than the 2,500 chemicals that are in cigarettes, many of which are known to cause serious health risks to unborn babies. Every single cigarette you smoke at this point is putting more of those toxins into your baby's body and increasing his or her chance of health issues and even death.
And don't forget, this is something you'll need to keep up with. You won't be able to start up smoking again after just because the baby is out of your body. The chemicals in cigarettes do get into breast milk. Second, and even third, hand smoke have also been proven to cause health problems, especially in children.
It's good that you're going to talk to your doctor about it though. Ask questions and ask how you can battle withdrawal.
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Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 11:38 pm
Preston Trelsly I wouldn't quit cold turkey, I would gradually remove cigarettes from your life. The withdrawals wouldn't be dangerous or anything, to my knowledge but it would put a lot of stress on you which in turn is bad for the baby. This is a very good step and choice to make not only for your baby, but also your general health. This is what I've heard. A friend of mine who had her daughter in 2007 was told not to quit smoking altogether during her pregnancy, because she found out she was pregnant at the 3 month point (she was of a heavier build) and her doctor said the stress of quitting completely could be harmful to the baby. I just picked up some more smoking pamphlets yesterday, but if there's nothing in there about withdrawal, I'll try to remember to look some up online if I can find it. smile
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Posted: Mon May 03, 2010 9:28 am
I was looking for some more information on this, trying to see who would recommend smoking during pregnancy and why.
Most sites that I went to said pregnant women should never smoke or even be around secondhand smoke at all, no matter what. If they smoke, they need to quit immediately.
Then I found one that said gradually quitting is best if the woman was smoking more than a pack a day. They said going from a pack a day or more to no cigarettes at all can cause miscarriage. The problem is that continuing to smoke can also cause miscarriage. And this was probably one of the least reputable sites that I found in my search.
Another site said that cutting down gradually was ok for heavy smokers as long as they cut down pretty fast and completely quit by the time they are 14 weeks along. But they still recommend quitting cold turkey.
Obviously the best situation is to never start smoking or at least quit smoking long before you even have a chance of getting pregnant. But from what I can see, everyone agrees that a light smoker should quit right away when they find out they are pregnant.
If your doctor says you should keep smoking at this point, I'd probably get a second opinion if I were you.
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