Stay Smoke Free

I have always been amazed at how women change so many things during pregnancy so that their babies can have the best start. Women give up alcohol, quit smoking and change their eating habits so that they are concentrating on good nutrition. I salute all that you do so that your children have the best start possible. I think we can all agree that good parenting begins in the womb and that women make extraordinary changes in their lives to assure a good beginning.

Things will change and although your new normal will be different than your old normal, your life will return to a more regular rhythm and it will become less stressful. If you have postpartum depression get some help from your health care provider. The baby blues are real and should not be ignored but actively treated. Don't put so much pressure on yourself that you forget why you quit smoking and drinking, you quit to give your child the best start. I have seen many women who have gone through the difficulty of quitting tobacco and then when the stress and demands of a new baby enter their lives they start smoking again. Don't let this happen to you or to your baby. Sometimes women put a lot of emphasis on the changes needed in their life to give their children a healthy beginning and don't understand that to continue to do what you can to insure that your child is healthy you must continue to not use tobacco. Smoking is very hard on babies and children. Don't begin smoking again for your own health but also it continues to be of supreme importance to the health of your baby and children.

If you are pregnant right now resolve to quit and to remain smoke free. If you have had a baby don't let yourself use smoking as a way to cope with the difficulties of the parenting job. It doesn't work that well and it is very hard on babies whether in the womb or out of it. Just as you made changes in your life style to accommodate your pregnancy remember that becoming tobacco free is an important life long commitment to your child and yourself. If you have begun to use tobacco again after quitting during your pregnancy; know that you can use what you learned when you quit then to quit again. You can do it and it is important for you to.