Usually second-hand smoke gets into our lungs because we breathe it in a restaurant, at work or at home. But strangely enough, some of us get the poisons in second-hand smoke without having to breathe it. Who? The baby inside you when you are pregnant.

How can second-hand smoke harm the baby inside you? After all, the baby doesn’t breathe the air we breathe. It’s inside you, safe and sound. Right? Wrong. The baby gets blood and food through your blood. If you are a smoker, it gets something else too. It gets the poisons in the smoke, second-hand. These go from your lungs to your blood and from your blood to your baby.

What poisons are we talking about?

Carbon monoxide, the deadly gas from a car’s tailpipe
cadmium, a metal used in batteries
toluene, an industrial solvent know to cause cancer
nicotine, a chemical used to kill bugs
your baby gets these poisons even if you are just breathing somebody’s else’s smoke.

What can happen to your baby? Just like the babies of smoking mothers, babies of women who breathe smoke at work or at home have lower weight at birth. Lower weight babies are more likely to get sick and spend time in the hospital. Why? Because the more smoke you breathe, the less oxygen the baby gets, and the less it can grow. The more smoke you breathe in, the more your baby gets the poisons in the smoke. And the more likely that you baby will get sick.

"second-hand" does not mean harmless. If you’re pregnant and you smoke, try to quit. If you do not smoke, but find yourself around those who do, tell them to go outside. Your baby needs fresh air before and after it is born.


exposure of non-smoking women to second-hand smoke during pregnancy causes reductions in fetal growth, and there is also evidence that postnatal exposure of infants to second-hand smoke contributes to the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (sids).



-kristin

People will just have to respect that you are pregnant, and not smoke around you at all!!! Thats what people did when I was pregnant, they would just go outside or I would leave. I didn't ever want to chance it.
Good luck!

-kristin

Thanks...I'll be needing it. His parents are just very...Well...Old fashioned or something. They both smoke sooo much. It;s like second nature, but I think they'd take it offensively if I asked em to stop around me. I dont want to piss off the future inlaws.

But I need to keep my baby safe.

in a nutshell second hand smoke for both u and ur baby is horrible. I understand how u feel because my father is a chain smoker who suffers from emphysema. I have 15 brothers and sisters, and because of the smoking and his 18 ciggs a day. The highest weight his children were at birth was 5lbs 3oz. I am now pregnant again, in my second trimester and my fathers smoking has gotten extremely worse. We have a carbon minoxide alarm in the house and he smokes all around it so in the middle of night were hearing it going off and it is because of him. I am terribly sick, of I don't know what. I have lost 24 pounds due to it, pregnancy and nausea does not help. Everytime I go there they ask me if I smoke, of course I tell them no. But then they wonder, how is there fluid in my lungs. Well we all know my dear father and when I approached him, he says "no one can tell him not to smoke in his doing it house". So for now I have to deal with it. Until I know what exactly to do. But trust me, if u can get out of it now, please do, u are only hurting urself and ur baby..

Tquartz490
i'm so sorry to hear that. I think you shopuld be taking your advice and getting out. I hope the best for both you and your baby. Have you tried making your dad understand how much his smoking is hurting you and your baby? I wish we could all do somethingg to help you out, it makes me so sad and upset to hear that. But thanks for sharing your story it made it so much clearer to me what a big deal this is... Now I just need to figure out what to do next. Thank you again, and I hope somehow things will work out for you. Lovin ya sister.

--cat

I do, but his culture the smoking , especially opium is so common so he feels that if none of his kids died, what makes mine so special. Im trying to, but im taking it slowly. Usually now, I try to stay out the house and work, but it doesn't help. I just hope no one ends up like me. Try helping urself hun. Just as I am.. No one needs sympathy, but we all need encourgement..

How right you are, thanks

All I have to say is it hurts your little one! Get away say something stand up for someone who cant stand up for themselves. I quit a job over this I was pissed. I had this awesome job working in a cantina... Bar and grill and like it was mainly inside but like I was usually at the bar (barbacking) or waitressing or seating ppl up front and there is actually a policy that you have to smoke 20-25 feet away from the front door of a restaurant. I used to bicker about it alittle bit b4 I got pregnant but then like when I got pregnant I started complaining. It was like the managers didnt care if they were smoking at the door almost in the door near the door and i'd have to be close to them! It went on going to the point I would serve or seat ppl until they stopped smoking because seriously they did not care I was like what! They were all well whats better u complaining or us getting more business because we dont care it got down to the point quit or get fired eventually for health forum... So yeah I ended up quitting and handing each of the managers a copy out of what to expect and some from the internet about the dangers of second hand smoke and second hand smoke to my baby! And I wrote "see friend's" at the top and photo copied... So please say something!

Atta girl jessamyn!!!

Exactly, stand up for what is right, stand up for someone who cant do it themselves. I would never want to harm my baby. I stopped going to dance clubs after I got pregnant, because of all the icky smoke!!


-kristin

You're too funny jess...But youre definitly right

Think of it this way... Hahah perrfect analogy....

Someone give your the cutest cuddliest most perfect loveable non barking non pooping sent from heaven angel puppy right! I mean like you fall in love just looking at him, he makes all your worries go away... Hes just a perfect little puppy....

And then you find out that the only puppy food sold at the store will give him an evil cancer that will slowly make his cuteness goes away till hes hurting and mean and smelly and sick till he dies an evil death....

Wouldnt you rather make him food then feed him this poisen...

Eat candy chew gum drink water ... Dont smoke!!!!

I think its not so bad. You see all those pregnant people smoking away and I know a woman who smoked a pack a day in her pregnancy (yuck I know!) and I had second hand smoke around me in my pregnancy.... But after danica was born, I made sure there was no smoke anywhere near her. If u feel unsafe... Bring it up to them.. Hopefully they'll respect ur wishes and stop.,

shauna

Blah I hate that when people ar e like my mom smoked all thru her pregnancy with me and I turned ut fine... Hahah thats crap i'm sorry and chances are they become smokers!

smoking itself is bad, im not going to judge u if u smoke, it's ur life your playing russian roulette with, but I know for a fact smoking is not for me...

I used to smoke but I quit as soon as I found out I was pregnant.. 2nd hand smoke angers me off 2. 2nd hand weed smoke angers me off even more. Every person i'm around smokes. The walls in my house are like yellow from all of the smoking. I cant get away from it. Unless I leave the room every 2 minutes when someone lites up.. And its not like its only one person ill be sitting in my living room with like 4 people and they'll all be smoking at the same time. As soon as one peson lites up its like a chain reaction. I've asked them nicely to not smoke near me but they're inconsiderate. When the baby comes though ill have to stay away from them because of sids and stuff. If u think ur boyfriends parents are bad u should meet my boyfriends dad he offered me a joint when he knew I was pregnant. That pissed me off !