Keys to Quit Smoking During Pregnancy

Mar 4, 2011
Lalitha Goteti

Think of Your Baby - Quit Smoking During Pregnancy - Free Digital Photos

Are you pregnant? Is it becoming difficult to resist the craving for one last cigarette? Here are few tips that may help you quit smoking.

It is a well-known fact that it is hard to try to quit the cravings and urges to have just one more cigarette. About 40% of all pregnant smokers manage to quit, a success rate far better than that of other smokers. Yet, plenty of pregnant women continue to light up, putting their babies at risk for stillbirth, premature delivery, low birth weight, and other complications. It is never too late to stop smoking. Every cigarette you decide not to smoke will help your and baby's health.

Keys to quit smoking during pregnancy

Different people take different approaches to kicking the cigarette habit. Here are the few keys to quitting smoking during pregnancy for a healthy baby:

set a quit date and stick to it. Do not set the date too long, as your baby wants you to quit as soon as possible.
inform your family and friends about the quit date and there is nothing like good old fashioned will power (state of mind) to control smoking. It is in fact very difficult to implement this state of mind, but you should realize that you are doing it for the baby.
remove the cigarettes from your home, car, and at work place.
for some smokers, ending a meal means lighting up. Replace that moment after a meal with something such as a piece of fruit, a (healthy) dessert, or a square of chocolate.
many people have a habit of smoking when they have an alcoholic drink. Try non-alcoholic drinks, or try drinking only in places where smoking inside is prohibited.
when friends, family, and co-workers smoke around you, it is doubly difficult to quit or avoid relapse. Your social circles need to know that you are changing your habits so talk about your decision to quit.

Hypnotherapy is one method which is moderately effective in giving up smoking. The smoker, willingly subjects herself to a hypnosis session. The therapist by the method of auto suggestion makes the smoker get the will power to quit smoking. Also, you may want to try alternative therapies such as aromatherapy, acupuncture, acupressure, meditation which may aid you in quitting smoking.

If neither approach is working for you, consider getting counseling or asking your doctor about nicotine replacements or other quitting aids. Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) should not ideally be used by pregnant women as an aid to stopping smoking.

You should only use NRT while pregnant after carefully discussing all the risks and benefits with your doctor. Weight gain is a common concern when quitting smoking. The gain is usually small, on average 3 to 5 pounds. Weight gain occurs because the oral pleasure of smoking is replaced by the self-soothing mechanism of eating. To maintain a healthy weight, it is important to find other, healthy ways to deal with stress and other unpleasant feelings.

Online quit smoking calculator is available to help you to keep track of important events such as how many years, months, day, hours, minutes, and seconds since you stopped smoking and how much money you have saved.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is for educational purposes only; it should not be used for diagnosis or to guide treatment without the opinion of a health professional. Any reader who is concerned about his/her health should contact a licensed medical professional.

References:

Baby Center, “Keys to Quit Smoking During Pregnancy” Accessed March 03, 2011.