Saturday, July 4, 2009

A Plea...

So today I was flipping through the channels and I happened to pause at the Tyra Banks show. Now, I do not normally watch that show...I'm not a Tyra fan (although I will admit I totally dig America's Next Top Model) and I really love it when Joel makes fun of her on The Soup. But I guess today's topic caught my attention enough to pay attention for more than 2 seconds. Tyra was talking to a woman...a pregnant woman who smokes. They were discussing the hazards of smoking during pregnancy...this woman already had 2 kids with severe asthma which they got as a result of her smoking when she was pregnant with them. Despite all the damning evidence in front of her, the stupid woman refused to quit.

There is a also girl I work with who is pregnant and smokes. I guess there's one every summer--if you recall my post from last year.

Needless to say, after watching that show and seeing my co-worker light up for at least the 4th time during her shift, my ire is significantly raised. Yes, I'm sure it's mostly because of my own struggles with getting pregnant, but I'm fairly certain I would feel the same way even if I wasn't currently dealing with infertility.

I will not tell anyone how to live their life, and I believe that people need to make their own choices...if they want to put that shit into their body, that's their business. HOWEVER--when it affects someone else like that, an innocent life--that's when my tolerance completely vanishes. These women have been given such a precious gift...a gift that women like me would do literally anything to have. And for them to knowingly put their unborn child in harm's way for no reason other than their own stupid selfishness disgusts me. Yes, I understand it's an addiction but I'm sorry, that is no excuse. When you have been given the chance to be part of a miracle, it is your responsibility to do WHATEVER IT TAKES to ensure the safety and well-being of that miracle, addiction or no addiction.

I realize that the only people who read this blog are my friends and family, to none of whom this really applies. But still, I'm putting it out there...if you are pregnant, please, don't take it for granted. Do what you need to do to be healthy for your baby. Realize what you have.

2 comments:

kajsia mccoy said...

Some people (Shake head). I will never understand. It's these same people who smoke-ruining someone else's life- who don't really raise their kids either. They just throw them out into the world to harass everyone else without guidance and they can turn into non functioning crazies. If you decide to be a parent- BE a parent. The end.

Jennifer Bowman said...

AMEN! For real!! The other day we were driving and I saw some - NO joke at LEAST 8 month pregnant woman smoking!! I told Scott to stop so I could go give her a piece of my mind but he wouldn't!! You are so right, people really need to realize what a gift it is to have children. Some people shouldn't be allowed to have kids, end of story.