And no it’s not a photo shopped pic people!
Of course the image is so shocking that my first thought was that it had been photo shopped.
After some research I found that the story had first been covered by American news station CBS.
The same sickening, panicky feeling I get when I look at this pic is pretty much the same convulsion I go through each time I see smoking pregnant woman.
So how come pregnant smoking women don’t also “spark international outcry”?
My view is that it’s because few voices speak out as loud for unborn babies as they should.
In my mind there is NO difference between a two year old smoking and an unborn infant smoking via his smoking mom.
Even health care providers tread softly
When my husband and I attended pre-natal classes we experienced a massive paradigm shift regarding how we wanted to deliver our baby.
So convincing was the presentation that my husband (who had before the classes been quite upset with me for even considering having our baby outside a hospital) was utterly keen to have our baby at home. And with no drugs!
We’d initially discussed pain management for labour with our gynae. I had wanted the full cocktail whatever it was!
After the pre-natal classes I didn’t even want the mention of drugs during labour – but that story for another blog.
Anyway… I’ve heard of women, who were set on having c-sections, completely opt for natural child birth after attending the pre-classes we’d attended.
Yet not much was said on the DANGERS of smoking while pregnant in those classes.
The topic was merely skimmed over.
Looking back now I find that quite strange.
My view is that the effects of a c-section or the use of painkillers such as Pethidine or epidurals during labour are FAR less problematic than a woman smoking while pregnant!
For the full story on Ali’s habit see the referenced link at the end.
Aldi’s parents, especially his mom, received TONS of criticism from the world. How come then smoking pregnant women don’t receive the same tongue lashing?
Furthermore...
Why are too few people speaking out for the unborn child?
Is their life surely that less precious or valuable?
I almost lost my baby in the first trimester. It was undoubtedly one of the worst experiences of my life.
For me, and I would believe every mom (including smoking moms), my baby at a mere three months as a foetus was the most precious being in my life.
I would hope that if I were doing something to hurt my baby even then someone would have spoken out for him.
So please if you’re a smoking mom – keep reading – I really wrote this for you in the hope that you would find the help you need for the health of you and baby.
I’m an ex-smoker.
Most times I’m very wary of saying that because while I haven’t smoked for years there are times I miss it.
Anyway I’m breastfeeding so it’s not a thought I entertain.
I quit because I came to the point where smoking felt wrong.
All smokers know it’s detrimental for their health. I was no different.
I knew I was destroying my body but on so many levels didn’t really care.
Then came the time when I couldn’t ignore the deep conviction every time I lit up. Eventually I couldn’t do it anymore.
It’s not your baby’s choice…
How frustrating is it to deal with massive problems that result from someone else’s choices?
My husband LOVED smoking. He hasn’t smoked in almost twenty years.
He stopped after a close brush with death following a horrifying asthma attack.
As much as he LOVED smoking he preferred to live.
It’s taken me a couple of days to write this blog because my first draft on the subject came from a place of anger.
Anger because I was going through issues with my parents which I’ve been dealing with for years.
I was mad at them for what I felt were selfish decisions they were making and yet were hugely impacting the lives of, us, their children. So my first draft of this blog started with: It’s selfish.
And then I just let rip.
I could feel my insides boil as the pictures I’ve seen of pregnant women smoking flew through my mind one after the other.
After I was done writing I thought I’d feel good about telling it like I saw it. Instead I felt as though someone had punched me in the stomach. I had no peace about what I’d written.
I could feel, Father, reminding me that it was His gentle kindness that has so often helped me. I couldn’t continue with my scathing attack after that.
I then decided to write as a fellow mom and not the wounded child who was mad at her parents.
So I’m giving it another go – this time, I hope, with a more lucid mind.
My attempt at a lucid entry
At the end of this entry I’ve provided an excerpt from Allen Carr’s Easyway To Stop Smoking. Family members who recently quit smoking swear by this book.
I’ve asked them to comment on this blog so they can give their own account.
So here’s my thought in a nutshell – deciding to not stop smoking while pregnant is selfish.
My husband quit because smoking could have killed him.
Smoking can kill an unborn child – so if it were up to them what would they prefer?
If that child in mommy’s tummy had the choice I’m certain they would prefer to not suffer a potential litany of diseases they may have to battle all their lives because mom smoked.
Imagine your baby’s beautiful, pink, healthy lungs being contaminated before they even take their first breath.
Each puff mom takes blackens those delicate lungs.
Anyway I get a strong sense that nothing I say can make a smoker, pregnant or not quit.
So I can only ask you consider one thing for the sake of your baby – take a look at Allen Carr’s website.
The moment of truth
Women who smoke while pregnant are 50% to 70% more likely than nonsmokers to give birth to a baby with a cleft lip or palate. That’s according to Medscape Medical News*.
Other research published on naturalnews.com* shows that “First trimester smoking was clearly associated with risk of cleft lip.”
Furthermore, “The researchers found that smoking more than 10 cigarettes per day during the first trimester of pregnancy increased the risk of giving birth to a child with cleft lip by nearly 100 percent. Even nonsmokers who spent at least two hours per day in the company of smokers had a 60 percent chance of having children with cleft lips.”
This reminds me of a Moment of Truth episode with a contestant who’d been born with a cleft lip. His mother had smoked during her pregnancy with him.
There he was a grown man and yet he still blamed his mother for the trauma, including the surgeries, he’d had to endure.
For motivation
The benefits of not smoking while pregnant are beautiful. By not smoking you give your child so much more of a chance to be happy and healthy.
It could also save you much stress and heartache that could stem from some of the complications you and/or your baby will have to deal with.
Babycentre.com has a stunning article on the effects of smoking while pregnant on mom and baby. I’ve provided the link below.
In the article oby-gyn Robert Welch is reported to have said, “Smoking cigarettes is probably the No. 1 cause of adverse outcomes for babies.”
This doctor says even pregnant women with serious diseases such as diabetes or high blood pressure have a much better chance of a delivering a healthier baby as opposed to pregnant women who smoke.
“I can control those conditions with medications,” Welch says. But when a pregnant woman smokes, nothing can protect her baby from danger.”
Would you light up a cigarette for your four year old?
According to babycentre.com cigarette smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals, including cyanide, lead, and at least 60 cancer-causing compounds.
When you smoke during pregnancy, those toxins gets into your bloodstream which is your baby’s only source of oxygen and nutrients.
In essence when you take a puff – so does baby.
Please read babycentres’ article in full. It’s worth it.
Also the dangers are not only to your unborn child. You too are at risk.
According to Dr Sears* smoking could account for ten percent of infertility problems in mothers
It also:
- Increases risk of ectopic pregnancy*
- Increases risk of placenta previa* (which could lead to a mom’s death)
- Increases risk of premature separation of the placenta
Dr Sears’ article gives good detail on how smoking severely affects a child’s mental and physical development.
I’ve provided a link below to his site referring to this particular subject.
What you could save your baby from
I think a mom shouldn’t smoke period. Second hand smoke is just as detrimental.
But we’re talking about smoking pregnant women so I thought it best to give you a short breakdown of some of the most serious complications: Some reports say that even a light smoker still poses tremendous risk.
Your baby could:
- Die before their born
- Be at immensely increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome
- Be premature
- Have a cleft lip or palate
- Be underdeveloped. This mean their lungs will be underdeveloped when born forcing them on a respirator in the first few days of their life. How miserable is that! This time could be better spent bonding with mommy.
- Suffer heart defects
- Battle with lifelong respiratory problems such as asthma
- Have learning disorders
- Display behavioural problems
Also smoking compromises breast milk. This too opens the child up to potential health problems. I go into detail on this in the entry regarding breastfeeding.
Now that I’m older
My best friend once told me that children don’t stay children forever.
I know it sounds extremely obvious but now I see what he meant.
The issues I’m having with my parents at thirty are the same issues that were there when I was a kid. But back then though some issues I didn’t recognize as problems and others I knew were problems but didn’t know how to address.
I’m an adult now and I can address those issues.
And while I love my parents I am extremely resentful of some of the things we had to go through as children; especially the things that continue to affect us now.
Your children will not be children forever.
While I cannot divulge what my parents and I have been fighting over I can say that what really hurts me and causes so much anger is that my parents refuse to see how their actions are destroying us.
If they were willing to work through issues we’ve raised with them I could live with that. After all I’m not perfect either. But for them to continue as they are regardless of how it’s wounding us – that’s a tough one to forgive.
Acknowledgements
Tracey for telling me about Allen Carr. Thank you for sharing the joy of your new found freedom from smoking!
Father, while working on this entry, thank You for reminding me about Your kindness. Thank You for not condemning me even when I deserve it.
Excerpt from Allen Carr’s website:
All smokers know that smoking is unhealthy, expensive, and anti-social. So what keeps them smoking even if they would rather stop?
The answer is FEAR. Fear that they will:
◦Be unable to enjoy life and cope with stress
◦Be unable to relax and to concentrate
◦Be unable to enjoy social occasions
◦Have to go through some terrible period of trauma to get free
◦Always be miserable without cigarettes and that the craving will never go
All these fears arise out of the very powerful illusions associated with smoking and nicotine addiction. Illusions like smoking helps smokers to relax and concentrate, smoking helps to relieve their stress and boredom.
The Allen Carr Method works by logically and scientifically destroying these illusions by educating the smoker about the true facts about how the smoking trap works. As soon as a smoker understands and believes that actually they will enjoy life more, concentrate better, be more relaxed, be better able to handle stress and that the craving will go completely, the fear of stopping disappears. When they subsequently realise that actually they are giving up absolutely nothing, it requires no willpower not to smoke. The method also allows the smoker to realise that provided they understand completely how nicotine withdrawal works and they follow a few simple instructions, that they will find it easy to manage and can actually enjoy the whole process.
For more on this visit http://www.allencarr.co.za/method.html
References:
*Mail Online: Still puffing away: Six weeks on, the smoking toddler has not quit and his parents say he may never kick the habit: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1291421/Smoking-toddler-Indonesian-boy-Aldi-Suganda-quit-cigarettes.html
*Medscape medical news article: Smoking During Pregnancy Found to Increase Risk of Cleft Lip and Palate: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/411814
*Naturalnews.com article: Smoking During Pregnancy Increases Risk of Cleft Lip in Infants: http://www.naturalnews.com/025068_risk_smoking_pregnancy.html
*Baby Centre article: How smoking during pregnancy affects you and your baby: http://www.babycenter.com/0_how-smoking-during-pregnancy-affects-you-and-your-baby_1405720.bc
*Dr Sears’ article from askdrsears.com: How smoking harms babies n the womb: http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/child-rearing-and-development/how-smoking-harms-babies/how-smoking-harms-babies-womb
*Ectopic pregnancy: An ectopic pregnancy is an abnormal pregnancy that occurs outside the womb (uterus). The baby (fetus) cannot survive, and often does not develop at all in this type of pregnancy: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001897/
* Placenta Previa – for a more on what this is and the risks associated with it you’re welcome to visit: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001902/
This blog has moved to our new home mommy24.com. Please join us there. DISCLAIMER: This blog is based on my opinion and should not replace advice from your health care providers and/or qualified medical practitioners.
I’m not a doctor or medical practitioner of any sort. I’m a mom.
In some of my blogs I include research, references and recommendations to various sources – I provide this information without any warranty of any kind, express or implied and I’m not liable for its accuracy nor for any loss or damage caused by anyone who uses this information.
I strongly encourage moms to do their own research on any and every subject I blog about.
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