Smoking and pregnancy - anonymous story

Pregnancy story by an anonymous mum of one

I’d like to share my experience with smoking during pregnancy.

Even though I was pregnant, I really struggled to quit smoking. I managed to cut down but still smoked around 10 cigarettes a day through my pregnancy.

At about 27 weeks, my baby’s growth started to falter. On my fundal height chart, her line began to plateau.

At 34 weeks I went for a scan and found out that there had been no growth for 2 weeks. On top of that it was discovered that my placenta was beginning to fail. It was dying around the edges.

I was given an induction date at 38 weeks but my waters broke spontaneously a week before the date arrived.

In the few days after her birth, my new baby daughter was very fussy, which I put down to nicotine withdrawal. And now at 2 years old, she suffers with horrible eczema and seems to have a poor immune system.

I don't know if this is connected to me continuing to smoke when I was pregnant with her but I urge all mums to quit smoking during pregnancy just in case.

Smoking and pregnancy

If you stop smoking now it will make a big difference to your health and the health of your baby. We know it's not easy for most people so we've put together a list of different support services and things to try. 

You can always speak to your midwife about your plans to quit smoking and ask what support they can give you. Your midwife won't judge you and should be happy to help you stay on track.

Find out more about smoking in pregnancy.