She had tackled her previous attempts by cutting down the number
of cigarettes she smoked in a day but she had found the fewer
number of cigarettes difficult to maintain and before long she was
smoking her regular amount again.
Since getting pregnant she had been thinking about what it might
be like having two children around, how would she get time to
smoke, where would she smoke. There were also the health
issues to think about, second hand smoke would be damaging for the
children.
Tina felt that her life would remain stressful if she continued to
smoke, as she would constantly be thinking about her next
cigarette, she wanted to feel relaxed, calm and able to cope rather
than feeling anxious about having time to smoke.
When asked why she felt her quit attempt this time was successful
she said, "because I stuck to my decision to stop, I was determined
to make it work and I made sure I used my patches for the
recommended time and they really helped".
Tina went on to say that the help and support she had from the
service was brilliant, she found that being able to talk about how
she felt was a good idea and it helped her to cope. She found
having her carbon monoxide reading checked each week a positive
experience; "I could see that because I wasn't smoking I didn't
have any carbon monoxide in my body which meant my baby had more
oxygen, which I was very pleased with.
Tina's husband Harry gave her a subscription to Sky TV as a reward
for stopping smoking which Tina was thrilled with; it also means
that they all benefit from her determination and hard
work.
Tina had a natural birth that went very smoothly and Michael was
born on the 15th July 03. The whole family were thrilled with
their new arrival.
Tina would encourage anyone to use the service. She feels
that if she has done it then anyone can, she says, "If you
really want to do it you can".
