You know you should stop . And you know why you should stop. So there is no sense me telling you over and over again the dangers of smoking during the pregnancy.
But here's a truth for you.
I smoked while I was pregnant with both my children. I was too young (with the 1st), stupid, and just unable to stop. Luckily my oldest was born healthy as can be, underweight (5lbs14ozs) but healthy.
My youngest daughter was not as lucky. Knowing this may have been my fault. She was 2 months early and weighed only 3lbs14ozs. We spent 1 week with her in the NICU of St. Josephs hospital in Ontario, then 3 more weeks in Niagara General's NICU.
Her 1st picture, complete with incubator and tubes coming from everywhere, came 20 minutes after her birth with the warning that she may be dead before I get the chance to see her, not just this stupid picture. Then came watching the doctors and nurses feed her through a tube and not being able to hold her without a heart and oxygen monitor trailing behind, we didn't hear a good cry from her until she was about 6 weeks old. And we were lucky. Thank God she is a happy and healthy 5 year old now.
Afterwords, I was assured that smoking was not the cause, but that doesn't really help much. It may not have caused the condition (placenta previa) but had I been a non-smoker, she would have been larger and more capable of handling the extra stress. I live everyday of my life with the knowledge that if I had quit, she may have been born without all that difficulty. On top of all that, I almost died and left my hubby a widow, alone with 2 kids.
Please, just do everything you can to keep this baby healthy, and give him or her the best possible start to life he or she can have.
I hope in some way, my story will help.
Good Luck
[B]My Milage:[/B]
[B]My Quit Date: [/B] 2/15/2007
[B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 35
[B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 890
[B]Amount Saved:[/B] $288.75
[B]Life Gained:[/B]
[B]Days:[/B] 2 [B]Hrs:[/B] 12 [B]Mins:[/B] 49 [B]Seconds:[/B] 20
