feeling so guilty

As long as you try give up now its the best you can do.

I dont really know if there would be any affects to baby from that short amount of time. I think smoking long term can cause premature birth & asthma etc.

Dont be to hard on yourself Congratulations on your pregnancy. Wishing you a safe & healthy pregnancy

from what I understand cigarette smoke reduces oxygen to the baby and can result in low birth weight/prematurity etc... but you are very early on, so if you stop now your baby is very unlikely to be effected :)

"A study published in the August 2009 journal Obstetrics and Gynecology found that expecting moms who quit in the first trimester actually raise their odds of delivering a healthy full-term, full-size baby to about the same as that of a nonsmoker. Moms who quit in the second trimester improved their odds, too, but not as much." (from baby centre)

don't beat yourself up- stopping now is the best thing you can do and it will not have affected your baby. The baby will not start get "supplies" from you for a few more weeks. And most for the risks are to do with later in pregnancy but stopping right now is fantastic! :)

I'd just like to disagree with Choco69 (sorry) but going cold turkey in my experience is your best bet. Read Alan Carr's "easy way to stop smoking". The actual physical "withdrawls" are over rated... nicotine only has a very short life (which is why you want a cigi about every half hour or so) so effectively you go through withdrawls every night when you sleep for 8 hours... thats how strong "withdrawls" are... you can sleep through them. The biggest thing I have found is just retraining your old habits but it is a fabulous gift to give your baby and yourself. If your partner also smokes it would be a good time for him to stop too as you will both have a better rate of long term success.

Anyway- thumbs up!

Congratulations on your pregnancy Like everyone has said, stopping so early in the piece is great, even if you were smoking heavily before, and I don't think Bubs will have been affected too much. I'm sure long-term smoking right through pregnancy does the real damamge.

To be honest, it's nice to see someone quitting straight away and stressing so much, when so many people smoke like chimney's throughout. Even though this baby wasn't planned, he/she is obviously going to be very loved.

Edited by Hopes

Yeah don't feel guilty...you weren't to know. I was a smoker initially during pregnancy....before I found out I was smoking 5-10 a day, when I found out I went down to one for a few days and then stopped. My son is fine. The main thing is that you have stopped.

sorry, what research? I just find the stress excuse a bit BS and is often an excuse used by addicts to not give up as they actually don't want to or to prolong the inevitable (and yes, I was a heavy smoker for far too long).
If you understand how nicotine addiction works you will understand that withdrawls happen from your last cigi smoked. So if you go cold turkey then you might have 2-3 days of your body getting used to it. If you cut down and have (for eg)1 cigi a day then you extend and prolong the withdrawls for as long as you have 1 cigi a day (and it doesn't reduce the withdrawls). Volume smoked does not equal the intensity of withdrawls. Nicotine is a chain addiction- 1 leads to the next and creates the craving for the next one which is why you must break the chain.
Cigarettes do not relieve stress- actually the opposite... they raise the heart rate and lower the oxygen levels in your blood (remember those head spins when you first started smoking?). If you've ever seen a grainy placenta that has started breaking up due to cigi smoking you wouldn't say that the minimal "stress" of giving up is as unhealthy as smoking.

My advice remains the same- read Alan Carrs "the easy way to Stop smoking" if you are needing help (yes, you can keep smoking while you read it and he even tells you to!! LOL)

*hops down off soap box* Anyway- Hats off to anyone who gives up regardless of the method they choose- it is the best gift you can give your baby and yourself.

Edited by Kupukupu

Don't have time to find the exact research however pulled this info from the June 2011 issue of US Obstetrics & Gynecology article on Nicotine Dependence in Pregnancy

A higher proportion of women stop smoking during pregnancy than at any other time in their lives. It is estimated that 20% to 30% of women stop smoking at some point during pregnancy and 80% to 85% of these women will remain abstinent throughout the pregnancy. A majority of those who do quit have done so by their first prenatal visit (18%–40%), and those who do not stop by this time are likely to continue throughout pregnancy. Of the women who manage to stop during pregnancy, about 70% resume smoking within 6 months into the postpartum period.

US clinic practice guidelines are to first offer counselling (ie in NZ that would be something like quitline) which is successful particularly in light to moderate smokers (about 80%). For those who after counselling are not able to cease smoking (cos it is actually a highly addictive drug) then pharmacology in the form of patches are to be given.

Smoking cessation at any point in pregnancy, including the third trimester, can be beneficial and result in the birth of higher birth weight infants and decrease the risk of adverse antenatal events attributed to smoking.

The goal should be to not only stop in pregnancy but to continue abstinence after the baby is born. Any nicotine that is consumed (by anyone in the vicinity of the baby) can be absorbed by the baby when breathing it in either directly from the air or from the chemical remnants on their clothing.

I was a heavy smoker until i got my BFP, i was in a similar situation as i was on depo so it was very unexpected. The doctor i saw to confirm pregnancy told me the same - to cut down to three a day, two a day, one a day over a couple of weeks. I stopped cold turkey - the one cigarette i tried to smoke when i knew made me feel so guilty i didnt take more then one puff. Of course she also told me to rub turps on my nipples to toughen them up for breastfeeding so she might not have been full quid.

Anyway - i had a big healthy baby boy who so far shows no side affects. The important thing is you've stopped and that you'll stay stopped - even after baby is born. If your partner smokes, try get him stopped too!