Smoking in Pregnancy and a Baby Born Two Months Early: Amanda B.'s Story

Amanda B. grew up in a small Wisconsin town among family members who smoked. Her story is part of CDC's Tips From Former Smokers® campaign.

Hooked young

Amanda had her first cigarette in 5th grade and was smoking every day by 13, sneaking cigarettes from her parents or buying a pack on the way home from school. Many of her friends, and the older kids she looked up to, smoked, so she felt she should too. By high school she was skipping classes to smoke and knew she was addicted. She smoked both menthol and non-menthol cigarettes at first, then only menthols for about 4 years.

Smoking came to fill every part of her day. She smoked when stressed and slipped outside for cigarettes all day long, even through Wisconsin's bitter winters.

Pregnant and unable to quit

Amanda was working her way through college, newly engaged and smoking a pack a day, when she found out she was pregnant. She hadn't planned to have children before marriage or finishing school — and certainly hadn't planned to smoke while pregnant. She tried hard to stop: she would throw away a $7 pack, sure she was done, only to buy another before the day was over. She believed cigarettes eased her stress, but learned they only made things worse.

A premature baby

About 7 months into the pregnancy, things went wrong. Amanda was rushed to the hospital by ambulance, and doctors delivered her daughter by emergency C-section — nearly two months early and weighing just 3 pounds. Being born too early is a danger for all pregnant women who keep smoking.

The baby had a weak, soft cry. She spent her first weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit, in an incubator, fed through a tube. Amanda could hold her only a little in those weeks — time, she said, that smoking took from her and that she will never get back.

At home, her daughter struggled to gain weight and got sick easily. Before her first birthday she developed allergies and asthma, a serious lung condition that makes breathing hard; breathing problems are more common in babies born early. At 7 she was taking four medicines regularly. Amanda has spoken of the heavy guilt she feels: she knew smoking was harmful, but never imagined it would lead to a premature baby or a child with asthma.

How she quit

Amanda concentrated on dealing with stress in other ways. As she puts it, whatever drives you to smoke is still there after the cigarette is finished. She turned to prayer, exercise and distraction instead.

She shares her story hoping others will quit — and the sooner the better. Her father, who smoked, learned he had advanced lung cancer; he has quit and is one of her biggest supporters in telling her story. She hopes her children will get the chance to know their grandfather.

Free help to quit

Sources

Based on "Amanda B.'s Story," Tips From Former Smokers® campaign, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; a work of the United States government in the public domain; rewritten in hubnx's own words.