My name is Kathleen Joves, and my baby, Justice, is my story. I’m 29 weeks pregnant and soon to be a mum. As soon as I went to the doctors and they told me I was pregnant, yeah, I stopped smoking straight away. Smoking while pregnant is just like giving a child a cigarette, and it’s really bad.
I smoked for 12 years, and I’ve quit now four months ago. I felt the change in my body, I felt a lot fitter, I felt a lot healthier, and I felt really good knowing that I wasn’t going to smoke during my pregnancy. I looked at a cigarette and craved for it, I’d look at my stomach and realise that, no, I can’t put my child through those bad habits.
You do realise when you quit cigarettes you just glow. It’s quite good. It’s such a good feeling. For anybody who is thinking of starting to smoke, don’t. It’s not good for your health. It’s not good for your lifestyle. You’d be happier without smoking. There’s so much you could do. Step 1, got over the cigarettes; step 2, raising a child, so I think life is just going to get better now for me.
If you’re a mum or you’re having a baby, don’t make smokes your story.