A study was recently released that showed that women who smoke during pregnancy are likely to suffer from depression.
More than one in 10 pregnant women smoke, and new research suggests many of them also may suffer from depression, making kicking the habit even harder.
The emerging science suggests that decades-old “quit for your baby” messages are too simplistic an approach for many women and that perhaps prenatal checkups should include screening pregnant smokers for mental health disorders that themselves require care.
“These ladies all know, I promise you, about the health risks. That’s not what it is,” says Dr. Jan Blalock of the University of Texas M.D Anderson Cancer Center, which has begun a first-of-a-kind study, Project Baby Steps, to test whether non-drug depression therapy helps pregnant smokers quit.
. . . Dr. Renee Goodwin, a Columbia University epidemiologist, tracked more than 1,500 pregnant women who took part in a larger study of Americans’ health. A surprising 22 percent smoked at some point during pregnancy, and about 12 percent were classified as nicotine-dependent.
Pregnant smokers were typically poor, less educated and had less access to health care.
But strikingly, 30 percent of the smokers had a mental health disorder, as did more than half who were nicotine-addicted and the vast majority suffered depression. The smokers were about three times as likely to have a disorder as pregnant nonsmokers, Goodwin recently reported in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology.
I have to say that I found this story particularly interesting, because it exposed some of my own judgments and biases. I have always believed that when a woman chooses to carry her pregnancy to term, she should take reasonable steps (no smoking, drinking or tackle football) to ensure that her baby is born with the healthiest prospects. I still do believe that. But I have also realized for some time that not all of the same options are not available to all women, there are a vast array of socioeconomic factors, and addiction is a serious problem that low-income women often to not have the option to overcome. But when I say “addiction,” I mean hard drugs. I understand that nicotine has a physiological addictive effect on a person, but it does not have the psychological effects of say, crack or meth, that seriously impair one’s ability to make good choices.
So, have I judged women who smoke while pregnant? Yes. And though some certainly could, I doubt that most of us would honestly be able to say differently. I think that it’s very easy to wonder how pregnant women could smoke when she knows better and is in a rational frame of mind.
This study has been eye-opening for two reasons. The first is that the rates of pregnant smokers are so high. I never would have guessed. Most women, I imagine, hide it due to social stigma. Do they also attempt to hide it from their doctors? Possibly. And that’s not a good thing.
The second is the results of the study itself. Because while I was silently judging pregnant smokers, I had not taken into account that they may have other, non-drug related psychological problems that impair their ability to quit. It’s always interesting and a little unsettling to have a hidden bias exposed. And it’s always a worthwhile experience to recognize that as liberals/feminists/progressives/whatever, we’re certainly not perfect and have our own ingrained social prejudices that we still need to recognize, apologize for and abandon. Sometimes, (particularly when it comes to dealing with issues around race, I find) that can be really hard for people. And hey, I’m not going to pretend that it’s Happy Fun Time to realize how I have been unfairly judging women while preaching against that type of behavior. But it’s exactly what has to happen if we ever want to earn the label of “progressive.”
So I wish the researchers luck on devising an effective treatment (anti-depressants can be dangerous for pregnant women, so other options must be explored). That would not only be good for the babies that will eventually be born, it would be a damn good thing for women, too.
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“It’s always interesting and a little unsettling to have a hidden bias exposed.”
Good call. But the willingness to examine these is what, I believe, sets the liberals/feminists/progressives/whatever apart from everyone else.
I think biases are one of the biggest barriers we have against getting through to “pro-life” people. They tend to have an overwhelming bias against women who “irresponsibly” get pregnant, and that bias makes them think women should have to accept the “consequences” of their actions. That bias keeps them so predisposed to judge women for their actions that it blinds them from other issues of equality, autonomy, and bodily integrity.
I smoked, both tobacco and cannabis, and drank alcohol all through my unintended pregnancy. I also took St John’s Wort antidepressants, because I suffer from PTSD following the suicide of my parents. I am still on prescription medication but managed to give up smoking after 24 years, when my son was a tiny baby. Alcohol is no longer an issue, either. My son is absolutely fine and very healthy. Of course I know that my lifestyle was most unhealthy and inappropriate. That was then – now I am extremely glad to still be alive, knowing that I have successfully passed on my gene pool.
You do what you have to do in order to get by. Some of us are lucky enough to be able to find the strength to change and move forward.
Not once was I judged by my medical attendants for my then lifestyle. They understood only too well that pregnant single women with no family support need all the crutches they can get. I live in England. I guess things are different here…
Thanks for sharing, jenjen. I’m glad that everything eventually worked out for you and that both you and your son are healthy!
I remember reading a story on the BBC about how some teenagers were deliberately smoking while pregnant to give birth to smallers (and less painful) babies. I’ve looked for the source, but can only find this one to the story on the Daily Mail, which is notoriously right-wing so take it with a pinch of salt perhaps… http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=408367&in_page_id=1770
I think we also have to be careful about buying into ideas whose main function is to control women.
I don’t know the science on smoking and drinking during pregnancy, but I do know that a whole generation of women (including my grandmother) smoked throughout their pregnancies and as far as I know that generation of babies did not have more problems than any other generation.
It’s also my understanding that while fetal alcohol syndrome is well documented, there aren’t studies that say a an occasional glass of wine at dinner has any effect on a fetus. In fact, I have heard from recently pregnant women that their doctors have told them that one or two drinks once in a while is perfectly fine.
The idea that pregnant women have a duty not to smoke or drink at all just gives random strangers the self-righteousness to tell pregnant women what they should and shouldn’t do. Every pregnant woman has to make decisions about how to prioritize what she wants to do and the health of her fetus. Sky-diving? maybe not. Sitting at home because of second hand smoke in a bar? imho, not worth it.
I smoked during pregnancy also; it was only then beginning to be an issue. (The “pregnancy warning” still wasn’t printed on the cigarette pack, yet.) I can only imagine the pressure on women these days!
I am sick of people judging pregnant women. If they care so much, let them bribe her financially to quit or STFU.
My mom didn’t smoke when she was pregnant with me, but once a week she had one beer. Our doctor, who is seriously strict about everything, said after the first trimester, she could have a little bit of alcohol. I turned out awesome. I fully plan on having one little glass of wine/week if I’m pregnant, after the first trimester, and so I don’t judge anybody else on the decisions they make about their bodies during their pregnancies. It’s none of my business.
“I don’t know the science on smoking and drinking during pregnancy, but I do know that a whole generation of women (including my grandmother) smoked throughout their pregnancies and as far as I know that generation of babies did not have more problems than any other generation.”
Really? Hmm thats interesting because it seems to me this day in age a huge number of people are dying because of unexplained cancers.
Smoking during pregnancy is selfish.
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