For me it was swearing. I was coming out of my post-MC doctors appointment and there was a woman in reception calling her all-of-3-months-old daughter a "Noisy little b1tch". I wanted to slap her face! Luckily i restrained myself. And though i have never said anything like THAT to smee, now i'm a mum i can relate to the stress involved!

I've never smoked but i used to work in smoking cessation for the NHS. In terms of chemical effects nicotine is as addictive as heroin. We know that heroin addicts often need ALOT of help to quit, but with smoking you get one lecture from a midwife and a packet of microtabs and sent on your way, expected to quit on your own. If quitting was easy no-one over the age of 16 and under the age of 70would smoke. It's expensive, stinky, restrictive (in this country where you can't do it in public anymore) and damages your health. At any one time 70% of smokers want to quit (and the other 30% usually are 70 and don't think quitting is worth it, just came out of a failed quit attempt and are trying to self-justify or are 13 and just started). It's THAT difficult. Added to that nicotine addiction drives a stronger desire to smoke during times of stress, like when you're in a hospital getting checked out, or when you're worrying about how you'll cope with another kid, or just generally when the enormity of pregnancy is hitting you. So many of the women i helped to quit had really stressful lives. Quitting smoking was throwing away a crutch and lots of them were terrified they'd plain fall down without that stress-relief-feeling from ciggies, even though they knew it was a fallacy. One girl i remember in particular was on her 3rd quit attempt that PG, at about 30wks. She was 27, she had 2 kids already, one of whom was mentally and physically disabled and needed round the clock physically demanding care. Her partner had just left her for a teenager, and her dad, recently diagnosed with cancer, had been given a few months to live and had come to live with her so she could care for him. The sum total of the help she got with this was 4 hours a week and one overnight every 2 months respite for her son and a macmillan cancer nurse every 3rd night for her dad. I do not know how she dealt with it all, and here she was asking me to help her quit those 5 cigarettes a day because she was terrified her new baby would be affected. My heart was breaking for her and i jus felt so impotent - nothing i could offer in the way of cessation counselling or nicotine replacement therapy would scratch the SURFACE of the things she was having to deal with.

I'm really glad the SIDS link has been documented. It will hopefully translate into more provision for everyone but ESPECIALLY pregnant women to help them quit once and for all.

Bec