Questionhi i am 17 weeks pregnant and im a smoker i was smoking 20 a day but now i smoke 10 a day i have tryed to give up as i don't want to harm my baby but when i try and give them up i get stressed out and feel like having panic attacks and get bad anxiety i have talked to my doctor about this but all she says is to give them up she want give me nicotine replacement as it is not allowed in Ireland if u could give me some advice that would be great thanks.
AnswerDear Natasha,
Congratulations on your pregnancy!
Obviously, not smoking at all would be best for your baby, but the less you smoke, the better, so kudos to you for decreasing the amount that you smoke. And panic and anxiety are not good for your baby, either, so you are right to try to avoid that, too.
I am not very familiar with good methods for quitting smoking, so I don't know if I can be of much help. It's not really my area of expertise.
Is it possible to decrease the amount that you smoke a bit each day, or each week? For example, lower it to 9 a day this week, and next week to eight a day, etc?
I'm not clear on what you meant when you mentioned the nicotine replacement. It sounds like you said that the doctor wants to give it to you, but it's not allowed in Ireland. Is that what you meant? Feel free to email again to clarify this point.
I think the replacements would be better, since the smoke itself is not good for the baby, either, and this way you would be eliminating a major part of the problem. I can try to research the effects of the nicotine replacement on the baby, too.
Best of luck in your pregnancy, and do the best you can to keep trying to lower the amount.
Every cigarette you skip is a victory, remember that.
Sheva
