You will all die someday after having lived a life not even remotely perfect or divine. Sorry. Now go worry about something you can change.

Weren't pregnant women ENCOURAGED to smoke in the 40's and 50's, to keep their weight down? Anybody done any studies on their daughters?

And what about their sons?

And what about if the FATHER smoked around his pregnant wife?

Oh, and I have a disproportionately wide waistline compared to my hip circumference, and used to have irregular menstrual cycles when I was heavier (since I lost weight, it's regularized). Nobody in my house ever smoked.

Jeebus.

I've had problems with irregular periods (and some weight issues) most of my life. And my Mom smoked. But, she's not my biological mother. I was adopted. I don't know if my birthmother smoked, but it seems less likely given her age and background (what little I know of it).

People - even researchers - often equate biological parenthood with social parenthood, but they aren't always the same. Whenever I get questions about my medical history, I always wonder - is that the history of the people who raised me, or the history of the people who donated the sperm and the egg. (I have no idea about my genetic medical history, so I'm out of luck there.)

So, is the cause of the problems smoking during pregnancy? Is the cause genetic (i.e. damage to the egg before fertilization) or prenatal? Or is the cause smoking during infancy? Or could grandma smoking while watching the baby cause the same issues? It's tricky to figure out these issues, but if the cause is purely genetic, it's probably more important for Mom to stop smoking before conceiving. If it's environmental, then Dad smoking is an issue too. Hmmm...

I thought obesity was an act of experimental rebellion that should be encouraged by feminists.

Did they control for that in the study? Just wondering....

One person proves naught - but my mom smoked throughout both pregnancies and her entire lifetime. I have a very small waist (classic hourglass) very low blood pressure, and regular periods like clockwork. No asthma, nothing she mentioned. I'm 49 now.

Life is risk. Next shall we demonize pregnant women who eat at McDonald's? This preoccupation with fetal 'damage' will lead directly to absurd expectations for women to 'be pc healthy' at all times for baby - remember the 'pre-pregnant' twaddle? Beware.

There might be underlying lifestyle factors that cause people to be both smokers and overweight. That said, smoking is bad, and everyone should quit.

I wonder about this study, too, not because I think it's ok to smoke when you are pregnant (I quit during my own pregnancy), but because it sounds spotty to me. Perhaps we aren't getting all the details. My ex-mother in law, who had her children in the early to late forties told me that her doctor told her to smoke for relaxation, which was good for the fetus. Not only that, but he told her to stop doing so much housework, and put up her feet and have two beers every night. Beer would make the baby strong, he said. Her daughter is thin as a rail and always has been.