Pamphlet review: 10 Best Reasons Not to Smoke While You're Pregnant

A summary of the 10 reasons
1. You can do it, many women stop smoking before pregnancy or after getting pregnant.
2. If you quit, your baby does too!  The chemicals from cigarettes get to the baby.  Stopping allows more oxygen and nutrients to get to your baby.
3. You'll have a healthier pregnancy.  Women who smoke have higher incidence of miscarriage, bleeding and premature birth.
4. Your pregnancy may be easier.  Quitting means you can breathe easier, will have more energy, and better taste.
5. You baby will be a healthier weight.  If you quite your baby will more likely be healthy.
6. Risk of SIDS will be lower.  Not smoking during pregnancy decreases the risk of SIDS after the baby is born, and of stillborn birth.
7. Your breast milk will be free of chemicals.  Chemicals from cigarettes in breast milk can cause restlessness, vomiting, diarrhea.  It can also reduce the supply of breast milk.
8. You'll protect your baby from second hand smoke.  Quitting means your baby will be less likely to get sick, less likely to have colds, bronchitis, ear infections and asthma.
9. You'll live to see your child grow.  Quitting will reduce your own risk of cancer, hear disease and other illnesses.
10. Tips for quitting: throw out cigarettes, pick a day, drink more water, keep your hands busy.  If you can't stop, cut back.  Think of your baby.  Remember 1-800-NOBUTTS.

**Like a Broken Vessel

This is a presentation based on the talk given by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland a few years back dealing with hope and depression.  It presents about ten individuals telling their stories of depression.  However it is also a message of hope.  There is hope in jesus Christ for a better life, things will get better.  One warning, in watching the video several people present their stories.  The first part can be depressive.  Watch to the end where the message of hope dominates.

How Tobacco Hurts Our World

This is a pamphlet dealing with societal ills from tobacco.  It lists plenty"
Tobacco hurts smokers.
Tobacco hurts non smokers.
Tobacco makes toxic trash.
Tobacco hurts pets.
Tobacco hurts the earth.  (This is a stretch because they talk about deforestation to raise tobacco.  It also mentions chemicals used in the growth.)
Tobacco hurst workers.  (I guess tobacco workers absorb nicotine too.)
Tobacco takes space that could be sued to grow food.  (I guess farmers grow what pays the most money.)
The cost of smoking hurts us all.  (I had hoped for a total cost, but it just says billions in terms of medical bills and lost work.)

Smoking Relapse

This pamphlet from Journeyworks Publishing gives ten ideas of what to do when you relapse:
1. Learn from the relapse.
2. Don't wast time feeling bad.  (Forgive yourself and move on.)
3. Prepare to quit again.
4. Remember your reasons for quitting (financial and health are two good ones.)
5. Remember the health risks are real.
6. Figure out your triggers.
7. Outsmart your urge to smoke again.
8. Remember what helped you quit last time.
9. Build on what worked before.
10. Pick your new quit date and go for it.

Violence Free: We All Play a Role

Co-Occurring Populations (Substance Use Disorder and Mental Health)

I attended a recent training on the clinical supervision of clinicians working with Co-Occurring Populations.  The training was well done, but wanted to share a few things about the effects of drugs on people.
Mouse Party is a program developed by the University of Utah to look at the physical effects of drugs on the brain.  Drugs can be so addictive because the effect the inner workings of the brain.  It is interesting to see the explanations of how the drug effects the brain which is where the pleasure is sensed and the addiction happens.

Risk of Type II Diabetes

No matter how I look at this I am scoring an eight.  Five or above shows risk of diabetes.   Those things that increase risk are age, being a man, if a woman having had gestational diabetes, mother, father or siblings with diabetes, high blood pressure, physically active and weight is the big one.