Smoking is hard habit to kick,
anyone who smokes can tell you that.
Being pregnant should help to make it much easier, but that's not always
the case for a lot of women. If you are
a smoker and are pregnant, it's really important that you don't stress yourself
out about smoking. Should you quit
because you are pregnant? Absolutely,
you should try very hard! If you're
smoking two packs a day before you get pregnant and you continue to do so while
you're pregnant, you should not. I
understand that it's hard to stop smoking, but you CAN cut back as to how many
cigarettes you have a day.
Yes, women have babies everyday
that smoked through the entire pregnancy, many of those babies turn out
perfectly normal, but some may not. You
have to realize that you are taking a risk on your baby's well being if you're
smoking during pregnancy. Don't beat
yourself up about it, just try your very best to at least cut back if you can't
quit. It's much easier said than done to
put those cigarettes down and say you're done.
I know!
Chew Gum
Chewing gum will give you a
refreshing taste in your mouth. For some
people, it can make them less likely to smoke as much when they chew gum. Try a kind where the flavor will last longer
like Orbit or Trident. Mints can also
help, I would recommend Ice Breakers.
Drink Water
It sounds crazy, but water
really can help if you drink it a lot.
Basically, for most people smoking is nothing more than a habit out of
being bored or having something in your mouth.
Water helps to just keep your mouth wet, but it really can help the urge
for a cigarette.
Take Deep Breaths
For some people, the sensation
of smoking is to actually be inhaling the smoke. If you take a few deep breaths when you have
a craving, it really helps! Plus, it's a
lot better to inhale that fresh air instead of smoke!
Have an Unlit Cigarette
Sometimes all we need is to have
the cigarette in our hands. Hold an
unlit cigarette and pretend to smoke it.
If that's too tempting for you, then just try a pen or something that
resembles a cigarette.
Whatever you have to do to make
sure you stop smoking or don't smoke as much, please try! Think about the health and well being of your
child and yourself as well. Think about the
impact that your smoking may have on your child later. It may cause your child to smoke if you're
smoking around him/her. Worst of all,
smoking can lead to such an early death with lung cancer. I don't want my child to see me in that
condition and I'm sure you don't either. If you're ever going to quit smoking, now is
the time. You will never have a better
excuse to quit than being pregnant and if you don't quit while you're pregnant
you'll probably look back and say "I was so foolish, I should have quit then
when I had the perfect opportunity."
I can say all of this because I
did smoke throughout my pregnancy. I cut
back a whole lot, but I just couldn't quit completely. Now I look back and I want to kick myself
every day for not quitting at the one time in my life that I should have. I have watched too many family members pass
away from lung cancer and they were all smokers. They all passed in their 50's, they didn't
even get a full life in. Don't make
yourself regret it later, just do it today!
You will feel so much better! You
will be amazed at how much easier you can breathe! It doesn't matter how long you have been
smoking, you can quit and you should!
