A Great Mother

Neal Boortz (via Roanoke Times) ^ | September 24, 2004 | Neal Boortz

[tdadams]

Mother to be, sucking on a cigarette, is concerned about how the noise from jackhammers will effect her unborn child...

[the_devils_advocate_666]

Agreed, I'm one of 9 children and my mother was a smoker (she did quit I think before the 9th). All of us graduated high school, most have college educations, none of us have a criminal record, and all are employeed or raising children in a two parent family. Not too bad, I think (and none off us smoke).

I won't say it is a good idea, but I don't think it is the terrible evil that everyone would have you believe.

[tdadams]

I hate it when that happens.

[Argh]

I was born into a smoking family. Didn't hurt me. ... We were lucky not to have the Nanny's and the Anti's back then. Thank God!

Every iota of this applies to me, too, Miss Lion.

[SheLion]

My best friend smoked with both of hers and they're both exceptionally big kids with IQs over 170. (The girl is 5'4" at 10 and the boy is 5'8" at 13. He already has several full-ride scholarships lined up and he's not even into highschool yet.)

The junk science of today is absolute hooey. I agree with Mears.........Doctors afraid of law suits telling the pregnant women of today that they HAVE to stop smoking.

[tdadams]

In any case, the potential for damage is there

Exactly. Anecdotes are not a good basis for a reasoned argument.

How about we talk about motorcyclist who got pulled over going 205 mph. It didn't kill him, but does that mean it's perfectly safe to ride a motorcycle at 205 mph?

[SheLion]

Every iota of this applies to me, too, Miss Lion.

The Nanny world we live in today SUCKS.

[tdadams]

Well, gee, from all the anecdotal evidence on this thread, we can conclude that smoking during pregnancy produces strong, healthy, heavy babies with exceptionally high IQs.

Case closed. Start puffing ladies!

[austinaero]

I understand your hostility,,and I never said I was perfect. Interesting your defense of smoking while pregnant. I'm pregnant with my third child and there are lots of things I would like to do,,but I feel a greater responsibility to the child I carry.

The fact that you didn't,,makes you just another namecaller...the very thing that got your hostility up in the first place....talk about the pot calling the kettle black...if smoking means that much to you,,,and you think a proven harmful addiction is a great thing to do while pregnant, go for it. I will continue to speak out against it...you can call it whatever you want.

[Argh]

I just hate it.

Remember when the libs used to believe in some freedoms other than sexual? The good old days!

[Mears]

I was the mother,of course. That is what this thread is about.

[latina4dubya]

Fetal alcohol damage is very real and very permanent.

yes, it is... and very sad to see in real life... a neighbor of my parents (someone i'd known my entire life) gave birth to her tenth child--the one with fetal alcohol damage--about 22 years ago... (she drank all the time)...

[Paradox]

DUH, and I know women who smoked, drank beer, and did drugs, all while pregnant. Then they abused the kids, malnurished them from birth until this woman gave the kids up to foster care.

Guess what, the kids today are FINE, grown up into normal, healthy adults... so what does this say? That YES, even if you do less than optimal things, your kid can grow up fine, does that mean its a good idea to do it? I think not. There are few absolutes when it comes to issues like these, but I think it is prudent on pregnant women to BETTER THEIR ODDS by doing what is best.

[CJ Wolf]

"Mother to be, sucking on a cigarette, is concerned about how the noise from jackhammers will effect her unborn child"

It is a fetus, not an "unborn child" who are they to tell the women what to do with her body...whoops oh she is smoking how horrible, she shouldn't be allowed to be a parent if she smokes.

[SheLion]

The fact that you didn't,,makes you just another namecaller...the very thing that got your hostility up in the first place....talk about the pot calling the kettle black...if smoking means that much to you,,,and you think a proven harmful addiction is a great thing to do while pregnant, go for it. I will continue to speak out against it...you can call it whatever you want.

Excuse me, but I don't care what you think of me or what you call me.  Back when I was pregnant, and gave birth to a very healthy baby girl, we didn't have nanny doctors telling us we could not smoke, or take aspirins or have an occassional drink.

What good is the placenta then?  The placenta is what screens out the poisons that enter a woman's body.  The placenta weeds out the good and the bad going into the baby.

And for another thing:  smoking was legal back then, and from what I see it, it still is today.  At least I wasn't a fat pig when I was pregnant.

[SheLion]

BTW, welcome to Free Republic.

[austinaero]

You know, I can understand your disagreement,,since you think the behavior is okay and have your proof. However, what I don't understand is the rabidity of the attack on me because I don't. I find that hypocritical.

But hey,,,,if smoking around your children in your eyes is perfectly safe, fine,,,it's a free country. I never said any different.

I continue to maintain the hypocrisy of the pig in the picture. And contrary to the hysterical responses,,I didn't say she shouldn't be a mom, or her child should be taken away or any of the other blown-out-of-proportion statements that have unwound in this thread.

So, since you control the thread, why don't you just spellout all the other offensive things you don't want to hear an alternative view on. God forbid someone steps on your rabid, "the placenta filters everything" toes (funny how babies are born with drugs and chemicals in their bloodstream based on what their moms have ingested and inhaled)....oh but that's just "pansy" science, right?

Thanks for the warm welcome but I've been here for awhile.

[BooBoo1000]

As regards the woman worrying about the Jack Hammer, I would afford her the very best O-B GYN care possible, on one condition, when the baby is born, she ( the MaMa) is permanently sterilized.

[theirjustdue]

"I was the mother,of course. That is what this thread is about."

Yes I know. The little smiley face at the end of the statement was intended to be a clue that it was (in part, anyway) a facetious statement.

[Marie]

Well, gee, from all the anecdotal evidence on this thread, we can conclude that smoking during pregnancy produces strong, healthy, heavy babies with exceptionally high IQs.

I think that the point we're trying to make is that the perceived dangers are blown way out of proportion.