Smoking while pregnant!

I don't know if it's just me but I've seen more pregnant women with a cig hanging out there mouth than I can shake a stick at. At first I was just thoroughly disgusted and wanted to go and tell them the deal but of course I didn't.. I've never seen this before until I came to the UK 3 months ago. Anyone else noticed this?? And why does it seem to be so acceptable? I just don't get it.

I've witnessed it quite a few times.  I found it shocking too.  Thinking back to when I lived in the U.S. I never really noticed women who were pregnant and smoking but then again I "didn't really take notice".  Perhaps I noticed it "more" of when I was pregnant because you're "just more aware" when you're in the same situation. Kinda like when you buy a new car in an unusal color because you don't see many of them around and once you get your new car only to find you see them at every corner.  Is it just because you're more aware of it, maybe.

Is it more acceptable here??  Don't know.  I did find from my own experience with my OBGYN here in London is way more "relaxed" then my OBGYN in NY.  Which I found strange.  You would think my "English" doctor would be more "reserved and conservative" but I actually found it the other way around with my NY doctor.

I am a smoker and when I find out I was pregnant, I of course stopped immediately.  But found it sooooo extremely hard and very aggravating at times.  He didn't suggest me having a cigarette at ALL but almost said in a way if you slip up once or twice take it for what it is and learn from it.  The guilt alone would be too much for me to bear.  He also didn't tell me to stop my working-out with weights, eating brie cheese or salmon and having an occasional red glass of wine on the weekends were all fine --- within moderation.  He would tell me pregnancy is not a sickness and I should "continue on with my life", don't stop it just because I am.  Whereas my NY doctor was total opposite.  No red wine, no brie cheese, no salmon, no working out with weights (even though my exercise routine was well established prior to me becoming pregnant) no nothing.

I don't know if it's a cultural/country thing or just varies from doctor-to-doctor.  I tend to think it's more of a cultural/country thing.  Because the U.S. is so malpractice happy the doctors need to "CYA" all the time.  The malpractices suits and suing everyone for this and that is now becoming epidemic here too.  Just recently I read an article about OBGYN's from France and how women there ate brie cheese and drank red wine to their hearts content and how smoking was a usual occurance with pregnant women, etc.  Just now the wine makers from France are now forced to put warning labels on their wine bottle explaining the hazards of drinking while pregnant because so many women are having babies prematurely and/or with birth defects, etc.  But it's like come on, it's common sense at least to me it is (but that's how Americans are taught -- no drinking, smoking when pregnant, etc.) we would never think of it.  So when you think of it in cultural terms I tend to think the "pregnancy mentality" is different in every country.  Same in Greece.  My BF is Greek and sees no problem eating feta cheese and ate it happily when she was pregnant along with her red wine and just gave birth to a beautiful, healthy baby boy this past April.  That's another cheese you're not suppose eat when pregnant.  But when I was in Greece this past June I had seen several Greek women eat their feta cheese and were happy as a pig in poo-poo.

But to answer your observation ,yes I have seen quite a lot of women here smoke with their bellies sticking out. But at the same time I can't really remember if I ever saw the same back home because I never really paid attention to it either.  But I do think if you saw a pregnant women back in the U.S. people would tend to "voice their concern" rather easily, publicly and loud enough for that pregant women to hear than keeping their opinion to themselves because  well that's just who we are.  I would think anyway.. 

 

I am horrified when I see pregnant women smoking; at my GP surgery and my ante natal clinic there is plenty of info available about the harmful effects of smoking in pregnancy and I have been asked dozens of times by various midwives and doctors if I smoke - even though it says plain as day in my notes that I have never been a smoker;

on the drinking issue - I think it is well known the US medical profession takes a much more conservative stance than in Europe; my own GP said it was ok to have the odd glass of wine if i wanted to, but he also said if you can go without it, go without. I have not drunk a drop of alcohol since discovering I was pregnant but it is amazing how many people try and get me to have a drink, telling me that ONE drink can't hurt the baby and they seem to have a problem accepting that I would actually rather not take the risk! 

Now as for the cheese and seafood thing - this is to do with the risk of listeria and other food poisoning - it is unpasteurised cheese and shellfish and raw fish you are meant to avoid. My understanding is that you should avoid these foods to make sure you don't get sick during the pregnancy and that if you DO get food poisoning it won't actually hurt the baby, it just makes life difficult and unpleasant for you. Feta cheese is OK if it is made from pasteurised milk.  Salmon is OK if it is cooked, not that cold smoked kind, although I have had that once or twice without thinking.  You are also supposed to avoid peanuts in case it induces an allergic reaction in your child, no-one has been able to explain that to me properly, but I have avoided them most of the time, but have slipped up once or twice. I am not going to kill myself over it. It is amazing I can think of a couple of people who have tried telling me it's ok to have a drink but at the same time have told me no way should I touch peanuts, or any nut!!

The US is malpreactice-happy, so they have to have a zero tolerance stance on most things, like drinking while pregnant. All the UK professionals I came in contact with said moderate alcohol will do no harm - but the problem is that "moderate" means something different to everyone. I had 3 glasses of wine my entire pregnancy, all in the third trimester, all 3 times on recommendation of my midwife to calm my nerves! I'm intelligent, I'm safe, and I knew 3  glasses (weeks apart, mind you) were going to do NO harm. But there are women here (just as there are in the US) who hear "moderate consumption is ok" and think "brilliant! I'll have one glass a day instead of 3!" - My husband's cousin is EXACTLY like that. She drank and smoked through her whole pregnancy because she thought she was given permission by the authorities, since "everything is fine in moderation". Really, really sad, in my opinion.

Both systems have their downfalls.
The UK system says moderation is ok: but it doesn't account for people lacking commom sense and you wind up with women doing unhealthy things, thinking they are fine.
THe US system says total abstinence is the way and any amount will harm you: so you end up with paranoid mothers who stress out so much over ever atom of food they consume that they go insane and have no peace.

It is a world full of people without common sense, unfortunately, and no system will ever fix that. But each system will have a different set of people who go overboard. In very different ways.

Now as for the cheese and seafood thing - this is to do with the risk of listeria and other food poisoning - it is unpasteurised cheese and shellfish and raw fish you are meant to avoid. My understanding is that you should avoid these foods to make sure you don't get sick during the pregnancy and that if you DO get food poisoning it won't actually hurt the baby, it just makes life difficult and unpleasant for you.

From what I understand it can hurt the baby and even cause a miscarriage. Here's a link from babycenter.com :
http://www.babycenter.com/expert/pregnancy/pregnancynutrition/3175.html

I wouldn't want to chance it.

Listeria can also be found in deli meats, sadly, so my desire for salami has gone unfulfilled.  (Apparently you can fix this by heating the meats to 160 degrees-but who wants hot salami?  Not me!)

(Just realized how bad that sounded.  Please forgive.  )

As far as smoking while pg, well, as a usual smoker I have real sympathy for those women.  I quit about 2 weeks after learning I was pregnant this time and haven't had one since, though I have been sorely, sorely tempted.  The only thing that's stopped me a couple of times is the knowledge that if I sat on my back porch and had a cigarette, all my backyard neighbors would see big old pregnant me smoking away, and how awful would that look?  (Note:  I know that smoking is bad for the baby, I just am of the opinion that one cigarette is better for the baby than lots of maternal stress.)

It's wrong and bad, yes, but I also think, we don't know this woman or her situation.  I knew a woman who smoked while pg.  She would light a cigarette, take three drags, and put it out.  She had about one every two hours or so.  Was it harmful? Yes.  Should she have quit?  Yes.  Was this probably the best compromise she and her doctor could work out for her?  Yes.  Was she a good mother to her little boy?  Absolutely.

I guess I just take the "none of my business/I don't know her situation" view.  I would hate to have, say, a death in the family, decide one cigarette is acceptable to calm me down or whatever, and have some stranger come up to me and start lecturing me.  Just my opinion.  Not saying it's right to smoke while pregnant-obviously I don't think so, or I wouldn't have quit-but I just keep my mouth shut.

It's wrong and bad, yes, but I also think, we don't know this woman or her situation. I knew a woman who smoked while pg. She would light a cigarette, take three drags, and put it out. She had about one every two hours or so. Was it harmful? Yes. Should she have quit? Yes. Was this probably the best compromise she and her doctor could work out for her? Yes. Was she a good mother to her little boy? Absolutely.

I knew a woman who was specifically told by her doctor (in the US) NOT to quit smoking, but rather to cut down as much as she could, because the stress of the physical withdrawal symptoms could be harmful to the baby as well.

Even knowing this it's hard not to be upset when I see a HEAVILY pregnant woman puffing away on a cigarette...

I've noticed it too since coming here, and it shocked me alot. One of my boyfriend's friends is heavily pregnant and has smoked over a pack a day throughout her entire pregnancy without showing any signs of concern, but then ironically, she refuses point blank when anyone offers her a drink.  I cringe every time she lights another one up. I just think that with all the poisons in cigarettes, it can't be good for the developing fetus, no matter how little you do it. As a mother, you're responsible for helping the baby inside you be given the best shot at a healthy development, so why even chance it?

This doesn't concern me as I am not pregnant now and don't intend to be and did not smoke with my own baby, but is it more harmful at the beginning or end of pregnancy? Some of you mention 'heavily' pregnant women. It seems to me that those early weeks would be particularly crucial as well, and that's also a time when many women don't even know they're pregnant. So maybe all women of child-bearing age should avoid smoking. Then I guess some people would look askance at any woman smoking at all. 'Oh. She's child-bearing age. She shouldn't be smoking.' Either way, it probably isn't anyone else's business whether she smokes or not. I agree with you on that one, Saf.

Actually, as far as I know, it's more harmful at the end.  Most books say at least try to quit by your 5th month, when the lungs begin to develop and the baby really starts gaining weight.

On the feta cheese issue ... seems UK feta is OK but USA feta is not:

http://www.babycentre.co.uk/expert/3175.html


phew.

I said "heavily" because quite frankly, I look 5 months pregnant myself and I'm not - so I can't exactly say someone is until it's bleedin' obvious - like they're about to drop!

I noticed it on my last visit. I was shocked! I thought everyone knew about the affects of smoking while you're pregnant.  :\\\'(

Hello everyone,

Not having visited the U.K. as of yet, I am curious as to whether I'll see more pregnant women who smoke over there when visiting in October.  I will say this: if U.K. women smoke to excess, I think U.S. women are just as guilty of overeating over here during pregnancy.  I'm amazed at all the hype about smoking and other health issues, yet very little emphasis is placed on proper eating portions.  Constantly indulging all those "cravings" for sugar and fat can add up to tons of extra weight, leading to elevated blood pressure (PIH, pre-eclampsia) or to gestational diabetes.  I think poor nutrition is the main reason why the U.S. still lags behind the U.K. in terms of infant mortality rates.  The U.K. has approx. 5.2 deaths per 1,000 live births, while the U.S.'s is 7.6 per 1,000.  And, the U.S.'s rate is increasing. 

Anyway--as far as smoking during pregnancy is concerned, the only woman I've ever known to smoke throughout her pregnancy is my sister-in-law.  She is heavy smoker, and tried cutting back, but was unable to completely quit during her second pregnancy.  She delivered him 3 weeks early after a few hours of labor--he weighed 8 lbs, 14 ounces.  She's normally 5'3" and 110 lbs, soaking wet.  So you can imagine, this was a BIG baby for her.  I teased her, saying she didn't smoke enough!

I personally hope that the U.K. doesn't change its attitude about pregnancy being a normal course of events, and not a sickness.  I think overall, the U.K.'s system is better than the U.S.'s just based on this alone.  I can't tell you how sick and tired I am of the B.S. women over here have to put up with in regards to OB/Gyn's and their ridiculous heavy-handed management of labor.  Over 60% of all women still receive gratuitous episiotomies here, and soon, 1 out of every 3 women will be sectioned.  It's just infuriating to me, and it makes me think that the violence of society at large has reached to every level--even birth, itself.  Sad.

Rebekah

I don't have kids, so perhaps it's presumptuous for me to throw in a comment here, but I will nonetheless. If you get pregnant, whether deliberately or accidentally, and decide to have the child, you owe it to that child to give it the best possible physical start he or she could have. You can't (or shouldn't, anyway) continue to smoke/drink/carry on the same lifestyle as before, given that any drug that goes into your system (nicotine, alcohol, etc.) goes into the fetus's pretty directly, via shared blood. I'm sure a cig or drink here or there wouldn't do serious damage, but if you're not prepared to give those habits up, at least for as long as you're pregnant, are you honestly prepared for the responsibility of a child? (This comes from someone who drinks and, even now, occasionally smokes.) To me, it's a trade in lifestyles--no compromising about it.