Beating the Ban

Pregnancy is one of the biggest factors in deciding to quit smoking. The forthcoming ban on smoking in public places will be further motivation for many. Smoking in pregnancy can cause stillbirth, miscarriage, premature birth, low birth weight babies or babies with abnormalities. Smoking around newborn babies can also increase the risk of them having breathing problems, chest infections and asthma.

Addiction to nicotine is hard to kick but you also need to deal with the social or routine part of smoking. The earlier you smoke your first cigarette in the day will show how addicted you are to the nicotine in cigarettes. If you are desperate for a cigarette within the first 30 minutes after waking, then the addiction is the biggest factor.

For nicotine addiction, please discuss with your GPs, they may consider prescribing nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) to pregnant women. This can be in the form of:

• patches
• lozenges
• chewing gum
• nasal spray

DO NOT BUY THESE PRODUCTS OVER THE COUNTER, it is very important that a GP prescribes the correct dose based on your normal HONEST nicotine intake. Regular updates will be required to begin to come off the nicotine replacement in the right way.

If you can get up, have a bath, do some tidying and cleaning, possibly get other children ready for school and prepare their lunch boxes – and only THEN have your first cigarette when you finally sit down or get in the car to go to work; it’s the routine of smoking that is likely to be the problem. So what can you do to help you to break the habit?

The key is to be aware of when and why you smoke – is it on the phone to friends, with a cup of tea, watching TV, listening to music, or at a particular time of day. Do you smoke when you are stressed, happy, busy, relaxing, or lonely?

Write a diary showing what you were doing, how you were feeling, and who you were with when you had a cigarette. After a few days read your diary to see if there is a pattern to your habit. Making sure you write the diary at the time will help and make you more aware of your own routine.

Now think of what you can do instead of having a cigarette at the times that you usually smoke. Something like walking around or doing gentle pelvic exercises whilst you’re talking to friends on the phone. Try to give an alternative for every situation.

Now add a further column to your diary – ‘Did I smoke it?’ Each time you feel that you WANT a cigarette, take out your diary and look at the entries you’ve written and the alternatives you’ve decided upon. After about half an hour complete the entry in the new column. After a few days you will hopefully see that your NO responses will be increasing and your YES responses will be getting less and less.

There are many groups and one-to-one support facilities available throughout the country. Visit www.givingupsmoking.co.uk for more tips on quitting in pregnancy and local contact details.

If it’s something as simple as needing something to do with your hands and your mouth – buy sugar free lollipops)