Smoking during pregnancy and anti-breastfeeding? Long post. ?I didn't think I was a judgmental person and I am not against formula feeding. I don't think a mother deserves to be guilt-tripped because she tried to breastfeed her baby but was unable to and made the switch to formula. However I've been reading questions on YA from women who are pregnant and are not going to breast feed because they find it disgusting and because they were formula fed and "turned out fine". I've also read questions from women who smoke during pregnancy and believe that it does not affect or harm the baby. They defend the fact that they smoke because they've smoked during other pregnancies and had big babies who turned out fine. I don't understand their attitude as there is so much literature stating all of the health implications smoking during pregnancy has on the baby. And isn't everyone aware of all of the literature regarding the benefits of breastfeeding? I also don't understand why mothers are asking about giving their babies rice cereal or other solids when the babies are only 6 weeks old. Or why mothers are feeding young babies junk food. I've seen mother's give their 6 month old babies coke in a bottle and I've seen 10-12 month olds being given deep fried foods to eat and I just don't get why mothers do that. I read pregnancy books. I read baby and child-rearing books. I research on the internet and I do everything I can to ensure the health of my son is not jeopardised. I wasn't looking forward to breast-feeding but I did it because I knew the health benefits. It would be a lot easier for me to buy my son fast food but I don't because I know fried foods contain carcinogens, trans fats and are detrimental to his health. It is none of my business what other mothers do but I don't know why I feel a little bit upset when I see a baby being given junk food or a pregnant woman smoking. Should hospitals, health departments, governments etc give women more information on how to have a healthy pregnancy and raise a healthy baby? Am I wrong to feel the way I do? I'm far from a perfect mother but I do put my son's health above everything else.
Due Aprril 16th...
If you google "smoking during pregnancy" you will find a wealth of information regarding the detrimental effects of smoking on the unborn baby.
http://www.marchofdimes.com/professionals/14332_1171.asp
Smoking increases the risk of pre-term delivery, low birth weight, SIDS, life long chronic illnesses such as Asthma, Cerebal Palsy. Threre is an increased risk of birth defects especially heart defects. An increased risk of childhook cancers.
As I said I do not condone a woman for formula feeding. I do not understand why a woman makes the choice not to breastfeed because she finds it disgusting. I am not against formula feeding. Also, women in impoverished countires breastfeed despite the nutritional inadequacies of their diets. Some diets are nothing more than rice. The babies still thrive on the breastmilk and receive nutrients from the mother (eg calcium leeches from the mother's bones) The mother still has iron stores etc.
But it is a proven fact that they are increased risks????
November,
This is what I came across which supports your argument
"A 2003 study suggests that babies of mothers who smoke during pregnancy undergo withdrawal-like symptoms similar to those seen in babies of mothers who use some illicit drugs "
Due April 16th...
I respect your opinion and I'm sorry if I offended you. I've simply found some disputes with what you have written.
I too became anaemic whilst pregnant and had to take iron supplements due to a poor diet. The reason I lost iron whilst pregnant is because the baby takes iron from my stores. A baby has 6 months worth of iron stores when they are born. So, although eating nothing but berries will affect me as a nursing mother, it would unlikely affect the baby, at least for several months.
"Theoretically, babies born to mothers who were anemic during pregnancy could have lower iron stores, however medical studies do not show this to be a problem. Babies born to mothers who are anemic during pregnancy are no more likely to be iron deficient than those born to mothers who are not anemic during pregnancy. "
"you do not need to maintain a perfect diet in order to provide quality milk for your baby. In fact, research tells us that the quality of a mother's diet has little influence on her milk. Nature is very forgiving – mother's milk is designed to provide for and protect baby even in times of hardship and famine. A poor diet is more likely to affect the mother than her breastfed baby."
This site has a lot of good information. You may want to check it out.
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/mom/mom-diet.html
Again, I do respect your opinion but I have the right to debate your arguments. Just as you have the right to debate mine.
Due with...june..
I said it was a long post. I said I didn't think I was judgmental person. But after reading some of the questions on YA, I started asking why mothers would do such & such & I did start to judge them for their decisions. I said I was far from a perfect mother. I'm not advertising my beliefs. I don't care what other people do as long as it doesn't affect my health. But everybody cares when they hear about a child being abused and neglected. I do. Smoking, feeding a child junk food is not abuse or neglect but I still wonder about the baby's health & I do care. I wish I didn't feel that way.
There is a lot of debate about co-sleeping. Different studies show benefits and negative of co-sleeping. There is debate as to wether co-sleeping decreases the risk of sids or increases it. Not co-sleeping isn't going to cause cancer in a child or Asthma, diabetes etc. I did choose to co-sleep most of the time anyway.
Bunnie D
i think most hospitals do give out or make available those types of information, and if they don't it says on the side of the cigarette carton, smoking is harmful to pregnant women.
its the same reason people eat fast food and smoke in the first place, we all know its bad, there is no surprise there. its just play laziness and apathy.
some parents are bad parents and some are good, it sucks every child can't have the perfect healthy childhood, but thats life.
* <3 *
and this is what makes you a good mother. there are a lot of really stupid people in this world...im sure you see it everyday if not multiple times a day. i know i do. it is unfortunate that these women are not educated nor do they care about their own health or the health of their unborn/infant child. ive seen it too and its repulsive. the only reason they defend themselves with some silly responses such as "ive done it before and theyre just fine" is bc they would never openly admit how stupid they are...you know? no one likes to do that! the women who smoke, eat poorly (during pregnancy) or feed their children poorly are typically the women who grew up in a dysfunctional household or lead dysfunctional lives. bc if u really think about it...how can they possibly do things that will harm their own children-as women we are nurturers....so for a woman to be such a pig---there has to be a screw missing. just remain the good mother that you are. and no u r not wrong in thinking this...and dont even consider this being "judge mental" bc u r not making rash opinions on something u dont know. these women have no shame in flashing their ignorance...so u should have no shame in flashing ur opinions. take care :-)
♥Due April 16th with #2♥
this is kinda silly, this is just your opinion. so no its not silly to feel this way. i think everyone is aware about the health risk of smoking during pregnancy and benefits of breastfeeding. some woman CAN NOT produce milk. some woman are not comfortable. i agree that breastfeeding is best, but formula does have everything your baby needs in it. breastfeeding is only really good depending on what the mother is eating. if i was breastfeeding and eating junk and deep fried food all day, my baby really isn't getting the nutrients that he/she needs right? so really it all depends on the moms eating habits on how healthy it is. on smoking, woman who have smoked not knowing they were pregnant are informed by doctor to cut down and not quit. its stressful on both mom and baby. i dont con don this but it is the truth. there are also no facts on what is does to the unborn, it is just risk. its not like the baby is gagging on the smoke, it the nicotine the goes through the mother blood.
you just post what i said ....it a "risk" that what i stated. not fact "RISK". and fyi the mother only has iron stores, if she is producing enough iron for her body. i am anemic and had to go on extra iron pills and eat foods high in iron in order to give my daughter what she need out of my breast milk and in order for my body to have energy and function properly. so if i ate nothing all day, but hmmm berries and a handful at that, that would be enough for my newborn child? you do u think those children are sick and dying! you ask you doctor that one and see what he tells you!
this is all your opinion and how you feel, if you didnt want to hear the other side, then dont post it so publicly for everyone to comment on!
i Agree, but if a baby only has 6 month supply, what happens after that? i was anemic, due to post pardum hemorage(sp?) i lost almost 75% of my blood. its not only about the babies health but the mother as well. like the mothers in third world countries. have you seen their children at the age of 2. they dont often make it. i was not offended, just think it is an opinion and everyone else is entitled to theirs too.
November
I have actually gotten thumbs-down for suggesting that it was not a good idea to smoke while pregnant and to try to quit. I thought, what kind of world are we living in where I would get thumbs down for saying something like that?
Every morning on the bus, I see a mother get on with her baby and proceed to feed her gatorade and cookies.
The argument that "it's such a shock to the system that it's better to keep smoking than to quit" is so full of holes, too. So, you don't want to quit smoking because the "stress" will hurt the baby - what do you think that same "stress" is going to do to the baby nine months from now when you give birth and the (now nicotine addicted) baby is suddenly taken away from it's constant nic-fix?
I have been doing everything I can to live healthy and have a baby for the past nine months, with nothing to show for it. I doubt any mother who has tried as long as nine months to get pregnant would continue to smoke when they were pregnant. Some women just don't appreciate how blessed they are.
cathrl69
The problem is that a lot of people simply don't understand statistics and probability at even a primary school level. At all. If they smoked, or know someone who smoked, and the baby didn't have any of the known problems, they genuinely believe that this means the medical research is wrong. After all, if the one or two babies who they know personally don't have this problem, clearly it can't exist, right? Not even if there is an 80% chance or whatever? Same with the junk food, the early weaning, the not even trying to breastfeed, whatever. They know people who did it and were fine. Therefore their baby will also be fine.
They've had plenty of information. They just choose to stick their heads in the sand and listen to one or two other people who also stuck their heads in the sand and got lucky. Of course diabetes isn't a risk of giving solids early - they were on solids at 10 weeks and look! They're not diabetic!
It does annoy me - because the consequences won't be to them, they will be to the baby. But I know there's nothing I can say to change it :(
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