Smoking While Pregnant (Full Version)

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LaurainAL -> Smoking While Pregnant (5/9/2008 4:17:10 PM)

Is it abuse?


Discuss.



Jhud -> RE: Smoking While Pregnant (5/9/2008 4:21:28 PM)

I think it is certainly abusive, not to mention horribly selfish; however, I think if it were treated that way by authorities, the solution could be worse than the crime.



Sideways -> RE: Smoking While Pregnant (5/9/2008 4:24:32 PM)

Certainly, just as excessive drinking would be.

I, too, wouldn't want it to be illegal, because that opens the door for the government to have control over what a woman does while pregnant.

ETA: Let me clarify, I don't believe in abortion, but I don't want the government to have legal control over me while I am growing my baby.



stampinlady -> RE: Smoking While Pregnant (5/9/2008 6:17:21 PM)

No more so than eating poorly and not taking your vitamins. What made you ask?

I'm a former smoker who smoked during pregnancy. I did cut down, but never quit untill my kids were older. I don't think it was wise at all. My kids were born just under 8 lbs. and never had any problems. Did God protect them from my stupidity? Possibly and if he did I'm very thankful.



broken2live4him -> RE: Smoking While Pregnant (5/9/2008 6:17:32 PM)

I absolutely believe it is abusive to the person's body as well as the unborn child. It's also selfish. A baby can suffer defects because of the selfish action of the mom. If the mother won't quit for herself, she should at least do it for her baby so her baby won't have health issues in the long run.



MissInnocent -> RE: Smoking While Pregnant (5/9/2008 7:34:56 PM)

I believe it is abuse. And while my mother smoked for years and did not stop until almost 11 years ago...during both of her pregnancies, the minute she found out she was pregnant she STOPPED. Yes she sadly went back after my brother and I were born but still during the pregnancy is was all about us and what was best for us.



HisCovenant -> RE: Smoking While Pregnant (5/12/2008 11:09:38 AM)

Yes. It's abuse to both the baby and the mother on herself. It's a sticky situation when the government starts getting involved in banning stuff for our protection, though. I, for one, don't believe the agencies we have in place for our health always make decisions that are truely healthy. They are too involved in politics and consumer desire and have lost sight of the goal of health.

Here's an example: Deb said that not taking vitamins is abusive, and I disagree with that. Most vitamins aren't combined with other nutrients that allow for absorption and many are synthetic. They are no where near as good and comprehensive as eating a healthy diet. What if the government mandated that all pregnant women had to take a multivitamin when that's not the best way to get nutrition? I would be livid.

It's also my opinion that we are too concerned about what pregnant women are doing during pregnancy. If something is bad for a baby, why is a woman doing it to herself, anyhow? If it ought to be banned from use while pregnant, shouldn't it be banned from society in general?



LaurainAL -> RE: Smoking While Pregnant (5/12/2008 11:18:41 AM)

quote:

It's also my opinion that we are too concerned about what pregnant women are doing during pregnancy. If something is bad for a baby, why is a woman doing it to herself, anyhow? If it ought to be banned from use while pregnant, shouldn't it be banned from society in general?


I look at it this way. If a woman chooses to smoke, it is on her. But the baby doesn't have a choice and can't escape the 2nd hand smoke.

I don't think that the government should interfere either. It would be a slippery slope that we don't want to start on.



HisCovenant -> RE: Smoking While Pregnant (5/12/2008 11:23:00 AM)

I agree... I guess I don't understand why we ban some things that are toxic and not others. I mean, arsenic isn't allowed, but smoking is? Are we concerned about health or not? Do we have Govn't agencies keeping us safe or not? Are they giving us all the info or just some? I understand why smoking isn't banned and don't want the govn't dictating to me, either, especailly when they don't seem on their game with health info... but on the other hand that doesn't seem logical when we do ban certain things. I'm a little torn. [;)]



McFatty -> RE: Smoking While Pregnant (5/12/2008 11:35:57 AM)

In opening, I believe smoking is bad for the kid, so it should be avoided.

I have heard lots of people incredibly scared of government regulation. I can't understand that, especially when it comes to unborn children. If we are okay with the government banning abortion, why not smoking while pregnant? I guess I am not as afraid of the government and believe its role should be protecting the lives of its citizens.



LaurainAL -> RE: Smoking While Pregnant (5/12/2008 12:01:38 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: McFatty

In opening, I believe smoking is bad for the kid, so it should be avoided.

I have heard lots of people incredibly scared of government regulation. I can't understand that, especially when it comes to unborn children. If we are okay with the government banning abortion, why not smoking while pregnant? I guess I am not as afraid of the government and believe its role should be protecting the lives of its citizens.


If it were illegal, what would the punishment be? Would there be a fine and would there be a CPS rep waiting at the delivery to take the child into foster care? I dunno. How would it be regulated?



Jhud -> RE: Smoking While Pregnant (5/12/2008 12:24:53 PM)

quote:

In opening, I believe smoking is bad for the kid, so it should be avoided.

I have heard lots of people incredibly scared of government regulation. I can't understand that, especially when it comes to unborn children. If we are okay with the government banning abortion, why not smoking while pregnant? I guess I am not as afraid of the government and believe its role should be protecting the lives of its citizens


Well, I think it would be a problem for a couple of reasons.

For the government (either state, or even more problematic, Federal) to enforce such a law would require the regular monitoring of all pregnant mothers. This means that health officials, government officials and others would have to work in concert to track a mother's activities for nine months. Of course, to do so would mean that all mothers would be required then to be subject to health monitoring of some sort.

So now we have mothers being required by law to see doctors, who have become effectively agents of the government to ensure legal protections are being enforced. And should a mother (whether she smokes or not) not conform to this regime, she would effectively be an an outlaw.

And as there are a number of other activities which could potentially harm a child, (poor nutrition, drinking, obesity, etc) such laws would open the door for the government to regularly monitor mothers to insure the health of unborn children.

This is a far cry from anti-abortion laws which would penalize any person for performing an abortion.



HisCovenant -> RE: Smoking While Pregnant (5/12/2008 12:30:51 PM)

My issue with the government is that I don't see them making wise choices and don't want to set a precidence for them coming in an dictating that I do something that isn't wise. What if the drug of the day was mandated to aid pregnancy and then a year later it was revealed that it was harmful?



3cappuccinosmom -> RE: Smoking While Pregnant (5/12/2008 1:24:28 PM)

I think it's a bad thing to do. [:(]



McFatty -> RE: Smoking While Pregnant (5/12/2008 1:40:05 PM)

The suggestions made here are going far beyond what I was talking about. To think about government regulation of pregnant women smoking is very different than thinking about mandatory doctor visits or drugs. I'm simply thinking about giving obviously pregnant smokers tickets and things of that nature. It doesn't have to be as extreme as all that! I'm also not saying it will be the best situation in the world. I'm simply trying not to discount such an idea from the get go.



Jhud -> RE: Smoking While Pregnant (5/12/2008 1:53:56 PM)

quote:

The suggestions made here are going far beyond what I was talking about. To think about government regulation of pregnant women smoking is very different than thinking about mandatory doctor visits or drugs. I'm simply thinking about giving obviously pregnant smokers tickets and things of that nature. It doesn't have to be as extreme as all that! I'm also not saying it will be the best situation in the world. I'm simply trying not to discount such an idea from the get go.


I suppose police officers could carry around pregnancy kits to confirm they weren't simply ticketing women who had some other...condition.

"Ma'am, do you mind stepping into this bathroom and confirming your pregnancy for me?"



small_creation -> RE: Smoking While Pregnant (5/13/2008 1:47:46 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: LaurainAL

Is it abuse?


Discuss.


No, not abuse. Such a strong word for an act that may or may not have harmful consequences to a fetus. I believe it has been determined that smoking while pregnant has slight effects on birthweight of babies.

In my opinion, if you are smoking/drinking/exercising EXCESSIVELY while pregnant, there is much more abuse to your own body going on and the risks are only heightened to your unborn baby.

That said, I think a person should refrain from smoking and alcohol and excessive exercise while pregnant, but a little here and there likely will not cause problems.

No, I don't believe that a one or two drinks during pregnancy has the likelihood to cause fetal alcohol syndrome in the vast vast majority of cases. And a few puffs here and there aren't going to cause much injury, either.

j



small_creation -> RE: Smoking While Pregnant (5/13/2008 1:57:19 PM)

Labeling smoking while pregnant an ABUSE gives the action a greater implication of criminality than I think it truly deserves. I supose I tend to downplay it because I see so many (and not just on this thread) overreactions from people regarding consumption actions taken during pregnancy.

And no, absolutely it does not need to be regulated. This is America for pete's sake. Let's rely on our own good (and bad) judgment rather than our government's collective regulation of questionable social mores.

j



McFatty -> RE: Smoking While Pregnant (5/13/2008 3:27:27 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Jhud

quote:

The suggestions made here are going far beyond what I was talking about. To think about government regulation of pregnant women smoking is very different than thinking about mandatory doctor visits or drugs. I'm simply thinking about giving obviously pregnant smokers tickets and things of that nature. It doesn't have to be as extreme as all that! I'm also not saying it will be the best situation in the world. I'm simply trying not to discount such an idea from the get go.


I suppose police officers could carry around pregnancy kits to confirm they weren't simply ticketing women who had some other...condition.

"Ma'am, do you mind stepping into this bathroom and confirming your pregnancy for me?"


Or there's the old, "Ma'am, are you pregnant?" question. I've heard it worked before. My point is that the government doesn't have to put its hands in the air all the time for everything, not the actual method of enforcement which I came up with off the top of my head. That's irrelevant.



KatMack -> RE: Smoking While Pregnant (5/13/2008 4:39:22 PM)

quote:

Or there's the old, "Ma'am, are you pregnant?" question. I've heard it worked before.


...because of course she'd be honest... knowing she's going to get a ticket and all...

--Kat



Jhud -> RE: Smoking While Pregnant (5/13/2008 4:44:18 PM)

quote:

...because of course she'd be honest... knowing she's going to get a ticket and all...


Not only that, but I don't know any male in his right mind who would ask a woman if she was pregnant if he wasn't sure - unless he was wearing some sort of protective body armor.



LaurainAL -> RE: Smoking While Pregnant (5/13/2008 4:48:17 PM)

It is never wise to ask a woman if she is pregnant unless you already know. I will never forget my first trip out into the world after my daughter was born. I left her at home with daddy and took a quick trip to Wal-Mart. A man from our church saw me and asked if I was ready to have that baby yet [&:].



HisCovenant -> RE: Smoking While Pregnant (5/13/2008 4:48:36 PM)

I know a few, but they aren't the brightest bulbs in the box! [;)]



McFatty -> RE: Smoking While Pregnant (5/13/2008 5:08:00 PM)

Do you all truly disagree with the simple idea (absent of the implementation) of protecting unborn children from cigarette smoke's effects, or do you just enjoy mocking my answer to the demand of "come up with a way it would work right away"? I said earlier that it was an off-the-top-of-my-head response, but it was the idea which was important. Brainstorming can certainly be done for enforcement methods.



Jhud -> RE: Smoking While Pregnant (5/13/2008 5:08:23 PM)

quote:

It is never wise to ask a woman if she is pregnant unless you already know. I will never forget my first trip out into the world after my daughter was born. I left her at home with daddy and took a quick trip to Wal-Mart. A man from our church saw me and asked if I was ready to have that baby yet


Yes, I learned my lesson a number of years ago when I asked a husband how far along his wife was. To which he replied, "She...isn't...pregnant".

Thankfully, she was out of earshot, and he was gracious enough not to repeat the question. [8|]



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