# Pregnant Smokers!!! You make me sick!!! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 18, 2006, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-smokers-you-make-me-sick/340480 "2006-01-18T05:39:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-smokers-you-make-me-sick/340480/21 "2006-01-18T13:05:05Z")
> [@Good Egg](#): > > The OP says she looked 6 months along or more. So you’re saying there aren’t any late-term abortions? :dubious: And I would have to see some medical credentials before taking at face value how far along she is in the pregnancy. Funny how a woman’s right to choose ends when her choice goes against the sensibilities of some. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-smokers-you-make-me-sick/340480/22 "2006-01-18T13:21:09Z")
> [@C3](#): > > I agree that it’s none of his business, but smoking can also cause low birthweight babies, premature birth, abnormalities such as a cleft palate, and possibly asthma in the child later in life. I have heard of people, though, whose doctors told them to cut back gradually as much as possible instead of focusing on quitting completely because of the stress involved and because the risks decrease the fewer cigarettes are smoked. My mom smoked when pregnant with me, back before it was known to be harmful. I weighed 5 lbs, 5 oz when I was born a month premature. No cleft palate, but I had asthmatic bronchitis as a baby. I thought I grew out of that, but at age 39, I suddenly got asthma. ☹ Not sure how much of that can be attributed to my mother’s smoking, but I’ll bet it isn’t zero. ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-smokers-you-make-me-sick/340480/23 "2006-01-18T13:32:28Z")
Also , don’t go up to pregnant women and criticize them because not only is it none of your business, it can cause stress and be bad for the baby. A cow-orker decided that she did not approve of my breakfast choice when I was pregnant and berated me for it and would not stop despite my tears, me asking her to stop and me telling her that I was following what my dietician told me to do. I went into premature labor. Fortunately they were able to stop the contractions. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-smokers-you-make-me-sick/340480/24 "2006-01-18T13:36:19Z")
Why is it that the moment a woman is pregnant, her every move is subject to scrutiny? Is it your kid? No? Then why do you care? Are you suddenly the guardian of all humanity? Or is it just that you really, really enjoy that self-righteous anger, and want to bask in that feeling of moral superiority? Everyone needs someone to look down on, huh? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-smokers-you-make-me-sick/340480/25 "2006-01-18T13:40:58Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > And they attributed that to smoking? Funny, but all I’ve ever heard is that you get a lower birth rate. “Lower birth rate” is the tip of the iceberg. A summary from [discovery.com](http://discovery.com): \*Studies by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) also suggest that smoking increases the risk of preterm delivery (before 37 weeks of gestation) by about 30 percent. It also increases the likelihood of certain birth defects, including a cleft lip and/or cleft palate (an opening in the roof of the mouth or the soft tissue in the back of the mouth). Babies who weigh less than 5 1/2 pounds at birth face an increased risk of serious health problems during the newborn period, chronic disabilities (such as cerebral palsy, mental retardation, and learning problems), and even death. Babies of mothers who smoke are twice as likely to die from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) as babies of nonsmokers. Children who are exposed to cigarette smoke before birth also may be at increased risk of lasting problems, including asthma, learning disabilities, and behavioral problems.\* Nice. ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-smokers-you-make-me-sick/340480/26 "2006-01-18T13:41:46Z")
Good grief, **lee**! I hope that woman got fired for harassing you so badly she risked your daughter’s life. ---
**Author:** ![Uvula\_Donor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e19adc/32.png) [@Uvula\_Donor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uvula_Donor)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-smokers-you-make-me-sick/340480/27 "2006-01-18T13:55:10Z")
> [@Bob Scene](#): > > I was smoking in the park the other day when a woman came over to me and said, “Do you know how bad that is for you?” So I said, “My grandmother lived to be 92.” The woman said, “Did she smoke?” And I said, “No. But she minded her own fucking business!” [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=5913249&postcount=34](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=5913249&postcount=34) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-smokers-you-make-me-sick/340480/28 "2006-01-18T14:08:19Z")
[QUOTE=Jackmannii\*Studies by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) also suggest that smoking increases the risk of preterm delivery (before 37 weeks of gestation) by about 30 percent. It also increases the likelihood of certain birth defects, including a cleft lip and/or cleft palate (an opening in the roof of the mouth or the soft tissue in the back of the mouth). Babies who weigh less than 5 1/2 pounds at birth face an increased risk of serious health problems during the newborn period, chronic disabilities (such as cerebral palsy, mental retardation, and learning problems), and even death. Babies of mothers who smoke are twice as likely to die from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) as babies of nonsmokers. Children who are exposed to cigarette smoke before birth also may be at increased risk of lasting problems, including asthma, learning disabilities, and behavioral problems.\* Nice.[/QUOTE] While I can’t present a scientific study, and really have no wish to defend the practice of smoking particularly when pregnant, I myself have been able to observe a 55 year period of 7 children growing up into middle age, all of them the children of one mother, mine, who smoked Black Cat cigarettes throughout everyone of her pregnancies, though she did die following her last pregnancy due to complications. We were all born healthy, only one sibling has a weight problem, and even to this day not one of us have experienced any physical health problems, other than the normal childhood diseases and the occasional viral/bacterial infection. Considering what other families go through, I feel quite lucky. There were four miscarriages during the time that my mother was producing babies. Whether that can be attributed to smoking, I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Polerius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d78d45/32.png) [@Polerius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polerius)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-smokers-you-make-me-sick/340480/29 "2006-01-18T14:14:29Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > Why is it that the moment a woman is pregnant, her every move is subject to scrutiny? Is it your kid? No? Then why do you care? Are you suddenly the guardian of all humanity? Or is it just that you really, really enjoy that self-righteous anger, and want to bask in that feeling of moral superiority? > > Everyone needs someone to look down on, huh? Why is it that the moment someone has a kid, her every move is subject to scrutiny? Is it your kid? No? Then why do you care if she beats the living crap out of him every day? Are you suddenly the guardian of all humanity? Or is it just that you really, really enjoy that self-righteous anger, and want to bask in that feeling of moral superiority? Everyone needs someone to look down on, huh? ---
**Author:** ![Polerius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d78d45/32.png) [@Polerius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polerius)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-smokers-you-make-me-sick/340480/30 "2006-01-18T14:16:55Z")
> [@lee](#): > > Also , don’t go up to pregnant women and criticize them because not only is it none of your business, it can cause stress and be bad for the baby. So, if a pregnant woman is taking crack, we should not criticize her because the resulting stress can be bad for the baby? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-smokers-you-make-me-sick/340480/31 "2006-01-18T14:22:48Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > “Lower birth rate” is the tip of the iceberg. A summary from [discovery.com](http://discovery.com): > > \*Studies by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) also suggest that smoking increases the risk of preterm delivery (before 37 weeks of gestation) by about 30 percent. It also increases the likelihood of certain birth defects, including a cleft lip and/or cleft palate (an opening in the roof of the mouth or the soft tissue in the back of the mouth). > > Babies who weigh less than 5 1/2 pounds at birth face an increased risk of serious health problems during the newborn period, chronic disabilities (such as cerebral palsy, mental retardation, and learning problems), and even death. > > Babies of mothers who smoke are twice as likely to die from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) as babies of nonsmokers. Children who are exposed to cigarette smoke before birth also may be at increased risk of lasting problems, including asthma, learning disabilities, and behavioral problems.\* > > Nice. Look…thirty years ago, not even doctors were harping on the evils of smoking during pregnancy. My mom, my grandmother, and millions of other women did it with little to no ill effects. I’m not saying it’s not better for the baby if you don’t smoke. I’m saying it’s not like you’re plunging a knife through your abdomen, either. While the chances of all the things you mentioned is increased, I didn’t see a rash of any of those things when millions and millions of women smoked through pregnancy. We’ve learned a lot over the years. But to say that any of these maladies are LIKELY to happen isn’t true. Otherwise, we’d have a world full of people with all these problems. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-smokers-you-make-me-sick/340480/32 "2006-01-18T14:33:19Z")
> [@Polerius](#): > > Why is it that the moment someone has a kid, her every move is subject to scrutiny? > Is it your kid? No? Then why do you care if she beats the living crap out of him every day? Are you suddenly the guardian of all humanity? Or is it just that you really, really enjoy that self-righteous anger, and want to bask in that feeling of moral superiority? > > Everyone needs someone to look down on, huh? While stretching is good for you in moderation, overdoing it can strain something. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-smokers-you-make-me-sick/340480/33 "2006-01-18T14:40:51Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > But to say that any of these maladies are LIKELY to happen isn’t true. Otherwise, we’d have a world full of people with all these problems. Yes, it’s good that learning disabilities, behavioral problems, asthma, cerebral palsy, mental retardation etc. are such extreme rarities. :rolleyes: Of course, _most_ of the time, smoking mothers will get away with no significant problems in their offspring that can be attributed to smoking. However, the medical evidence (and common sense) suggest that this is not a lottery worth playing. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-smokers-you-make-me-sick/340480/34 "2006-01-18T14:56:57Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Yes, it’s good that learning disabilities, behavioral problems, asthma, cerebral palsy, mental retardation etc. are such extreme rarities. :rolleyes: > > Of course, _most_ of the time, smoking mothers will get away with no significant problems in their offspring that can be attributed to smoking. However, the medical evidence (and common sense) suggest that this is not a lottery worth playing. > [@](#): > > Antecedents of cerebral palsy. I. Univariate analysis of risks > K. B. Nelson and J. H. Ellenberg > A large prospective study investigated prenatal and perinatal antecedents of chronic motor dysfunction (cerebral palsy [CP]), evaluating approximately 400 characteristics of the mothers, pregnancies, or deliveries. In addition to confirming some, but not all, of the classic risk factors for CP, this study observed relatively large increases in the CP rate in association with maternal mental retardation, seizure disorders, hyperthyroidism, or with the administration of thyroid hormone and estrogen in pregnancy. Some risk factors were predictive of CP only insofar as they were associated with low birth weight or low Apgar scores. \*\*Among factors not significantly related to CP rate were maternal age, parity, socioeconomic status, smoking history, maternal diabetes, first trimester vaginal bleeding, kidney or bladder infection, moderate hypertension, long cord, use of anesthetic agents, or use of oxytoxics for initiation or augmentation of labor. \*\* Duration of labor, whether precipitate or prolonged, was not a risk factor for CP. > > [Antecedents of Cerebral Palsy: I. Univariate Analysis of Risks | JAMA Pediatrics | JAMA Network](http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/139/10/1031) An increased risk doesn’t mean you need to go around chastising people like they just committed a felony. If it was as dangerous to smoke while pregnant as it is to do crack while pregnant, they’d make it illegal. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-smokers-you-make-me-sick/340480/35 "2006-01-18T16:01:37Z")
**Kalhoun** : I will grant you that some studies have not confirmed a significant association between cigarette smoking in pregnant women and cerebral palsy incidence in their infants. That leaves the rest of the list, including one I omitted - increased risk of finger and toe abnormalities (including webbed feet)\* in infants born to smoking moms. [More](http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/research_data/health_consequences/matsmkg.htm) on cigarette smoking and mental retardation. > [@Kalhoun](#): > > An increased risk doesn’t mean you need to go around chastising people like they just committed a felony. If it was as dangerous to smoke while pregnant as it is to do crack while pregnant, they’d make it illegal. I trust you are addressing that first comment to someone else, as I have only pointed out smoking-associated risks and not called for confronting, chastising or jailing anyone. As for the second comment - there are numerous things we can do legally that would be wiser _not_ to do. Smokers can make bad choices for themselves (we’ve had at least three lung cancers in smokers diagnosed in our pathology department already this week), but it’s another thing entirely to make choices with potential lifetime consequences for our children. \*I can’t say if this would increase one’s chances of becoming a swimming champion. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-smokers-you-make-me-sick/340480/36 "2006-01-18T16:09:48Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > **Kalhoun** : I will grant you that some studies have not confirmed a significant association between cigarette smoking in pregnant women and cerebral palsy incidence in their infants. > That leaves the rest of the list, including one I omitted - increased risk of finger and toe abnormalities (including webbed feet)\* in infants born to smoking moms. > [More](http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/research_data/health_consequences/matsmkg.htm) on cigarette smoking and mental retardation. > I trust you are addressing that first comment to someone else, as I have only pointed out smoking-associated risks and not called for confronting, chastising or jailing anyone. > As for the second comment - there are numerous things we can do legally that would be wiser _not_ to do. Smokers can make bad choices for themselves (we’ve had at least three lung cancers in smokers diagnosed in our pathology department already this week), but it’s another thing entirely to make choices with potential lifetime consequences for our children. > \*I can’t say if this would increase one’s chances of becoming a swimming champion. :dubious: My comment was directed more toward the OP. Risks have been acknowledged. However, I stand by my observation that if the risks were that high, nearly everyone I know would be web-footed asthmatic retarded people. Such is not the case. ---
**Author:** ![Alias](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e4f/32.png) [@Alias](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alias)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-smokers-you-make-me-sick/340480/37 "2006-01-18T16:20:45Z")
> [@Hung Mung](#): > > I think you should take up smoking and then try quitting. That may shave a few exclamation points off of you. I smoked for years and years, got pregnant, quit, then started smoking again after my daughter was born. I smoked for a few more years, then quit again for good. It’s hard, but it’s not impossible. I quit the first time because I didn’t think it was fair to make my unborn child smoke too. Quitting for yourself is harder than quitting for your child. I don’t think there is ANY excuse for smoking while pregnant. In fact, I’d go as far as saying that pregnant smokers don’t try hard enough to quit. It’s very selfish. ---
**Author:** ![light\_strand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a6a055/32.png) [@light\_strand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/light_strand)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-smokers-you-make-me-sick/340480/38 "2006-01-18T16:32:49Z")
> [@Polerius](#): > > So, if a pregnant woman is taking crack, we should not criticize her because the resulting stress can be bad for the baby? :dubious: Yes smoking is _exactly_ like crack. There is no good research showing causality with smoking an anything despite literally thousands of studies trying to show otherwise. The best evidence is that smoking _may_ cause low birthweight, but even that is questionable. However, there is very strong evidence to show that smoking does not effect pregnancy at all, but it’s hard to show…well nothing. Anecdotally, there are approximate two generations of people out there who were born to women who smoked unknowing of the possible health effects. We do know that drinking in excess is very bad for a fetus (FAS), but moderate drinking should not have an effect. I say all of you pregnancy police should just mind your own damn business and let her do what she wants. I can’t figure out when pregnancy made women and their bodies public property. ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-smokers-you-make-me-sick/340480/39 "2006-01-18T16:56:03Z")
> [@pace](#): > > Ohh man! Police should arrest women who are openly and publicly doing something to harm their unborn child!!! !!! You’re not serious about this part, are you? ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-smokers-you-make-me-sick/340480/40 "2006-01-18T17:03:07Z")
Smoking during pregnancy isn’t a good idea. Smoking after a heart attack, a diagnosis of lung cancer, diabetes high bloodpressure, a stroke, a mini-stroke, asthma, COPD, or a host of other things isn’t a great idea either, but you’d be surprised how many people still can’t stop. Even when it would orphan their kids or bankrupt their family- much worse things than a low birth weight. You feel the same urge to lecture and berate when you see an overweight middle-aged man smoking? No? Just pregnant women, huh? Maybe this lady has gone from 40 a day to 3- not great, but a hell of a lot better. Perhaps she honestly doesn’t know the risks. Maybe she’s not pregnant at all. Maybe she’s quitting and you saw her smoke her last ever cigarette. Perhaps she has tried everything to quit but can’t. It’s an addiction, and it’s harder to quit than alcohol, heroin, cocaine, speed and alsmost every other drug you can think of (go to an AA or NA meeting and look at the ashtrays if you don’t believe me). Being pregnant doesn’t magically throw a switch that makes it easier to stop smoking and being berated by random strangers isn’t going to help. MYOB- this for the woman and her healthcare providers to worry about, it is NOT your concern. Unless you’d like me to stand over you while you eat a hamburger and tell you exactly what every calorie and chemical is doing to you, or knock your cup of caffinated coffee out of your hand, or generally get in your face when I have no business being there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-smokers-you-make-me-sick/340480.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-smokers-you-make-me-sick/340480.md?page=3)