Smoking when pregnant is seriously bad news for both the unborn baby and also the mother-to-be, so it is very important that positive action is taken to quit before pregnancy - on the assumption that it will have been planned some time in advance.

But if your pregnancy is unplanned or you haven't realised how important it is to quit smoking when pregnant, urgent methods need to be adopted to eliminate the habit and the stress that inevitably accompanies quitting.

irst of all, please, do not beat yourself up about smoking during pregnancy. You are not a bad person; you just have a bad habit. And just the fact that you are reading this article shows that you want to do the right thing for your baby. So let's see what we can do to put an end to your smoking habit once and for all and start your journey to a smoke-free pregnancy.

Pregnant women who decide to quit smoking are faced with a myriad of smoking cessation choices. But as an expecting mother you have to choose a smoking cessation method that meets your needs. What are your needs? Well, you have to make sure your baby is kept safe so you want to make sure that you choose a method to quit smoking that is: 

 Why should I quit smoking when pregnant?

Smoking poses many dangers to your baby both before and after it is born. Smoking while you are still pregnant leads to both pre-term birth and low birth weight. Both of these conditions are very harmful for your baby. It can also lead to placental abruption, a condition where the placenta pulls away from the uterus necessitating an immediate delivery.

After birth smoking continues to harm your baby. Babies exposed to cigarette smoke suffer from a higher risk for respiratory infections and even Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

Is it safe to stop smoking during pregnancy?

The good news is that it is safe to stop smoking during pregnancy. Studies have shown that the earlier in their pregnancy expecting mothers stop smoking it lowers the likelihood of their babies suffering from the above conditions. But pregnant women need to make sure they use the proper technique to quit smoking. They must use something that is all natural, it needs to have a high success rate, and it should work quickly since time is of the essence.

What smoking cessation methods should I avoid?

Basically you want to avoid smoking cessation methods that rely on chemicals that can harm your baby. Some smoking cessation medications are more dangerous than smoking itself. Pregnant ladies need to avoid these smoking cessation medications altogether. They also should avoid nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs) like the patch. NRTs work by feeding nicotine into the system to replace the nicotine from cigarettes. Expecting moms need to avoid nicotine so NRTs are not a good choice.

What is the best way to quit smoking when pregnant?

The best method that meets all the criteria listed above is hypnotherapy. It is all natural, has a very high success rate, and works very fast. A particular type of hypnotherapy, called Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) is particularly effective. NLP has proven to be a very powerful form of hypnotherapy with a high success rate. It works like traditional hypnotherapy in that it removes the cravings to smoke from the subconscious. But unlike traditional hypnotherapy you do not have to visit a professional hypnotherapist. NLP recordings are available to help you quit smoking when pregnant just by listening to a specially formatted audio recording.