If you are lucky enough to have already conceived - and as a smoker you started with around 50% less chance of conception than a non smoker - then congratulations. However, if you would like to quit smoking during pregnancy and still consider the idea as difficult, if not impossible, then your stress added to your smoking habit can cause immense harm to yourself and your newborn. Worst of all, that combination could affect whether your baby is born full term, prematurely or at all, because smoking is said to be a factor in miscarriage and stress causes many organs of the body to function less effectively. The British Medical Association states that smoking is responsible for up to 5,000 miscarriages a year in the UK alone.

How is the damage caused

Smoking deposits nicotine and many other toxic chemicals into the bloodstream, which means that the fetus is unable to receive the right amount of oxygen, and in turn this also increases the chance of losing a pregnancy.

How Can I make Quitting easier on myself

Well, firstly you have to stop all the guilt and shame and worry and anxiety that’s constantly on your mind. That may sound hard to do but here’s the rub: All the while you’re wallowing in guilt you’re not spending time sorting out your problem or preparing to quit with a positive mindset. Your negativity and worry are getting in the way of you becoming a non-smoker for life. So quit beating yourself up right now. Make an agreement with yourself that from this moment forth, self-pity and self-hatred are OUT.

Limiting the damage

Now, having banned negative thinking, it’s time to get more positive. Tell yourself that you can and you will quit; act as if that statement is true - go on, just pretend for a while. When I was a child I used to jump in the air and pretend I could fly. I really believed I was hovering in the air far longer than anyone else possibly could but now I know it was just pretend. Pretending is a great way to begin any forward-looking process.

Learn to relax

It wouldn’t be surprising if you found it difficult to relax because nicotine is a stimulant and, even though you might get a couple of seconds-worth of “Ah, that feels better” when you first puff your cigarette, that very soon changes to anxiety as your body fills with poison and the heart has to race up to 10 beats a minute faster, just to get rid of it. There are many relaxation methods including yoga, tai chi and meditation. If you don’t have time or the inclination to go to a class then use a high quality relaxation CD every evening at bedtime. The results can be truly amazing and when you are more relaxed and you’ve stopped beating up on yourself; you’ll be in a far better state to quit.

Bottom line

Smoking during pregnancy is not healthy, is not necessary and is certainly not as hard to stop as you once thought. Just start with the right mindset and you’ll help yourself and your baby.

To kill off your smoking gremlins and stop smoking for good go to http://www.stopsmokingday.com

Relaxation helps and you will find a selection of really restfull mp3 downloads at http://www.stopsmokingconsultants.co.uk/Try_our_stop_smoking_downloads.php

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