18 year old Natasha decided to give up smoking after she found out she was pregnant with her first child. She has now been smoke-free for 9 months and now has a healthy 9 weeks old baby boy.
Natasha joined the service following a referral from her midwife and was determined to quit as soon as possible-"I decided I wanted to quit so I would not endanger the health of my unborn baby. I knew the longer I smoked the more damage I would do to my baby-the stop smoking advisor explained the risks of smoking to me and said that every time I smoked the baby would be starved of oxygen. I knew I had to quit as soon as I could".
Natasha explains that the thought of her baby inside her kept her motivated-as well as keeping busy. "When I saw other people smoking I would think of cigarettes but I used menthol chewing gum to help take my mind off smoking and tried to keep as busy as I could" Natasha stated she loves to draw and is a keen artist "every time I thought about smoking I would get my art book out and start drawing –this really helped me not to smoke as it helped keep my hands occupied".
"The support from Yorkshire Smoke Free pregnancy advisor really helped me keep quit-as I wouldn't have been able to it on my own. She really helped me work on setting small goals and when I achieved them I was able to celebrate with her. My family helped me a little bit-but doubted I would keep stick to it. The smoking advisor kept me motivated and believed I could quit for good. Attending regular appointments and continued support also helped me feel supported throughout my pregnancy. And it was great to know she was there to celebrate my success at keeping smoke free with her when I had my baby".
"At first I found it difficult to get used to not smoking especially seeing other people smoke. But I soon found that I could be around smokers and manage to tell myself I didn't need to smoke and walked away from it".
"I now feel I have more energy and am less drowsy than before I quit-which has really helped me having a 9 week old baby. I am determined to keep smoke free now my baby is here!!"