Cigarette smoke can have a bad effect on the health of an unborn baby, so it is important that pregnant women quit smoking, either before they become pregnant or while they are pregnant. The approach of the New Year is a good time to urge a pregnant friend to quit smoking so she and her baby will benefit. You can find many tools to help her stick with her resolution to stay away from cigarettes. You can also suggest that she log on and join a quit-smoking group.
Step 1
Talk to your pregnant friend and let her know that you are worried about her health and the health of her unborn child. Suggest that she set a New Year's resolution to quit smoking for the health of both her and her baby. If she agrees, set January 1 as the day she will quit smoking.
Step 2
Find the LiveSTRONG Quit Smoking Dare website (see Resources below) and introduce your friend to this site. She can join, log on and receive support from other quitting smokers while giving them emotional support as well.
Step 3
Remind your friend of her New Year's resolution as you help her to write of a list of reasons to quit smoking. Visit the supermarket together and stock up on packages of sugarless gum, fruits and vegetables and nuts so she will have something she can substitute for a cigarette.
Step 4
Advise your friend to slice up a day's supply of fruits and vegetables on New Year's Day after she has smoked her last cigarette. Remind her to keep some fruits and vegetables with her to chew on when she gets the urge to smoke. Let her know she can munch on nuts as well to help her deal with the urge to smoke. When she gets the urge, she can also chew gum.
Step 5
Buy a pretty notebook or journal for your friend to record her thoughts as she is fighting urges to smoke. Urge her to keep her hands busy with a craft if she has a hobby. If she does not have one, suggest that she find one, like knitting, crochet, cross stitch or bead work in order to find creative ways to stay busy so she won't dwell on cigarettes.
Tips and Warnings
- Your friend may have a physical reaction to the absence of nicotine in her body. If she becomes nauseated, suggest she eat light meals and drink green tea to help her with her upset stomach. Help your friend avoid smoking triggers like smoking around certain friends or in certain spots. She will also have to avoid secondhand smoke so she doesn't get the urge to smoke when she smells it.
- The effects of nicotine gums, patches or inhalers on unborn fetuses are not known. Your friend should not use these products while she is pregnant.
Things You'll Need
- Online support group--LiveSTRONG Quit Smoking Dare
- Sugarless gum
- Crunchy fruit and vegetable slices
- Nuts
- Notebook or journal
- Craft
