there are idiots and there are IDIOTS!

That poor child! The kid will certainly have hearing problems from those jackhammers!!! [img]tongue.gif[/img] :D ;)

This is what can happen to children if their mothers smoke while carrying them.

WARNING! Strong pictures!
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
http://www.louhirsch.com/Stogie4.jpg
http://www.louhirsch.com/Stogie5.jpg
http://www.louhirsch.com/Stogie6.jpg

j/k ;)

[ 10-29-2004, 11:32 AM: Message edited by: Stratos ]

Ah, seems like ignorance is infectious.

Is it me or does the woman seem to be involved in some deep thinking in that picture?

<font color=skyblue>It is sad to read what you just said. My mom quit cold the minute she discovered she was carrying me. Therefore, addictions can be overcome providing the proper incintive.

Also, low birth weight is not the "only" negative outcome. Low birth weight can contribute to other health problems after birth. Also, since you brought up the mention of "addiction", did you not think that the nicotine would also affect the baby in the same way? Therefore, your newborns must have suffered withdrawls from the drug, just like any other type of drug. The placenta is a very good natural barrier for many toxins and pollutions that could harm a baby, but the placenta does not stop drugs. That is why women who are pregnant cannot take any medications during the first trimester, and are limited to just Tylenol during the remainder of the pregnancy, unless consulted by a doctor.

Please do not ever let on to anyone that such behavior is even remotely acceptable.

I apologize for the rant. You hit a sensitive nerve.</font> </font>[/QUOTE]I am not saying what I did was right, and with the last one I went to ultra lights, and stopped smoking as much as I did. but there was also a something my doctor told me. due to my manic depressive ways, and all of the stress I was already going through, the last thing he felt I should do is try and quit smoking. it would put more stess on me and the babies, and possibly cause even more problems for the pregnancy. if I could change anything, it would be that I never started smoking in the first place. and do not tell me to try the patch...tried that and that is when we found out I am allergic to adhesive.

My mother quit without any patches or anything. She just decided to stop and she did.

It should be noted that the worst risks of smoking (lung related diseases and cancer due to smoke irritation) are not experienced by the unborn child as smoke is not coming into contact with it's airways.

Routine exposure to nicotine, a potent stimulant, is the problem. Being a potent stimulant, it can interfere with the endocrine system and thus can affect growth. Because children are growing so quickly, they are especially sensitive to hormone fluctuations. Stimulants simulate or stimulate the production of stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. Stress hormones are catabolic and counteract growth hormones, which are anabolic. As was previously said, routine stress can be almost as bad. Stress can be defined as anything that causes the fight/flight response to kick in and stimulate the release of adrenaline and cortisol.

Stress hormones are very useful in animals who must work hard for their food and to whom each calorie is precious. It ensures that as long as an animal is in danger, it will be using all available resources for the energy to run or fight or storing them as fat for near future use. None are spared for growth and prolonged stress hormone levels can actually reduce muscle tissue mass. As people, we no longer live under the same evolutionary pressures that formed our body responses, which is why the way our bodies do things somtimes seems strange.

[ 10-29-2004, 02:55 PM: Message edited by: Sir Kenyth ]

Well my mom smoked (still does, but I am living with my father now) when I wasn't born and I sufferd consequences at birth. When I was little I couldn't breathe without the breathing machine but then after a few moinths it was O.K.

That certainly can be attributed to your mother smoking Xen. Low birth weight, premature birth, and underdevelopment are all related risks that are made much worse by regular/heavy smoking by the pregnant mother.

Hey, haven't this picture been on Jay Leno?