Rebecca Gayheart Smoking While Pregnant

I think someone's been watching a little too much Mad Men.

Rebecca Gayheart, clearly pregnant despite not publicly confirming it, was seen exiting Bristol Farms in L.A. on Monday.  After loading up on expensive organic, free range, grassfed, whole food Rebecca proceeded to get in her car and then light. up. a. cigarette.

Nice.

This is 2009, right?  I mean, we are all well aware of the detrimental effects of smoking on a fetus, yes?  Oh, wait.  I forgot. This is Hollywood.  And pregnancy is no excuse to lose your girlish figure!  God forbid you stop smoking and start eating.  Besides, there's an added bonus: a slimmer fetus!

The baby should really be thanking her.

I like how she made sure to pull her hair back first.  Smelly hair? Bad.  Birth defects?  Meh.

So far Rebecca's camp has had no comment.

Comments

[Kailee]

She is vile. How selfish can you be?

[Katelin]

To be fair, if you're a heavy smoker prior to pregnancy, a lot of doctors advice slowly cutting back until you're done rather than going cold turkey, which can actually cause my stress and harm to the fetus than a few cigarettes a day in the beginning.

Please don't take this as my condoning smoking during pregnancy. I don't. Not even close. I was a smoker until I found out I was pregnant with my first child. The day I found out I was pregnant, I had a cigarette in shock then didn't have another one. But some people aren't that lucky.

[Angela]

And the ironic juxtaposition between organic food and smoking cigarettes...
No? Is that just me?

If you don't care enough about the air we all breathe then why care about the pesticides/antibiotics/radiation on/in your food?

Sorry, smoking is a HUGE pet peeve of mine. (Well actually "peeve" just doesn't fit the hugeness of my feelings.)

[Jessi]

I totally agree that smoking is horrible in general and especially while pregnant and yes, a little weird with the whole foods thing, but...
Let's remember that nicotine is an addiction and a fairly hard one to break, at that. And Katelin is correct, if you are a heavy smoker then stopping cold turkey can actually cause the fetus to go into withdrawal and it can even cause a miscarriage.

[savia]

I don't agree with smoking while pregnant, either, but her body is not my body and I don't have the right to tell her what to do with it or judge her for her choices.

It seems that once a woman is pregnant, everyone feels they have the right to weigh in on her choices, from food to activities, to, yes, things like smoking.

I understand people are concerned about the baby, but when it comes right down to it, it's the mother's body and the mother's choices, and she has the right to that, no matter how flawed we may think those choices are.

I have a friend who was told NOT to quit smoking by her doctor because she had done that twice and had miscarried.

We don't know her specific situation. And women's bodies shouldn't be public property, whether they're pregnant or not.

[Elise]

Yeah... That's pretty shitty. As far as people that think that quitting cold turkey is bad for you, I say bullshit. It sucks, but can be done. I've never heard of an OBGYN suggesting smoking during a pregnancy or weaning off of them... It makes me wonder if it's not something pregnant smokers say to "make it better". I will do some research on miscarriage due to nicotine withdrawal though. I found out I was pregnant with my son (oops!) and quit the same day. Was I a raging whore face? Yes. Did I still stay off the butts so my kid could have the proper amount of oxygen shipped to his placenta? Yes. It's irresponsible, and if she's far enough along to be showing, she certainly has time to "wean" off cigarettes regardless.

[Accidental Housewife]

I've hear this "weaning off" thing, too. To which I call bullshit. And honestly, every woman I know who claims that never did actually quit. And you know what? In terms of "what we do to our bodies is our business"?? Sure. But once that is a viable fetus, to me it's the equivalent of depriving a child of proper nutrition. A woman who was letting her child be malnourished/poisoned would be considered a terrible mother, regardless of her own circumstances. How is this different, exactly?

[Katelin]

Well, no, it's not bullshit, and it's not an excuse for smokers to not quit smoking nor is there any proof that people who say that never quit smoking.

My mother was a smoker. She had 16 (SIXTEEN) miscarriages before finally carrying me to term. The one difference? Her ob told her not to quit smoking cold turkey like she did all the other times.

Again, I do not condone smoking while pregnant, but each situation is different. I'm very happy that you were able to quit with no problems, Elise, but not all women are that fortunate. By the way, my mother didn't fully wean off until she was 6 months along. I was born happy and healthy (Lyme aside). I'm not pointing that out as saying "HEY, SMOKING IS SAFE!" I'm pointing this out as a way to show that sometimes, doctors know better than Susie I-Just-Had-A-Kid-And-I-Know-What's-Best.

[michele]

it really isn't anyone's business. and boy are we a stalkerish nation, huh? noone can even grocery shop without photos?

how quickly we forget that generations of people were born to smoking mothers. and drinking mothers! people didn't know it was bad. and everyone smoked and could smoke in airplanes, buses, work, college, everywhere. that is a lot of secondhand smoke all our mothers inhaled even if they didn't light up. and probably most people's dads smoked too. we all exist and are fine.

i don't think anyone should smoke. but i just can't condemn this woman so easily.

and i concur with savia that why is it once a woman is pregnant we all decide we are the boss and not her?

[michele]

katelin--why would your mom keep starting smoking again after stopping? seems like a lot of trouble to stop and start all the time since she clearly wanted to be pregnant and didn't want to smoke during. it is interesting.

[Katelin]

Same reason a lot of people pick smoking back up. She was distraught and stressed. Not the smartest decision in her life, but one she made nonetheless.

And to be fair, she had stopped trying to conceive years before I was born.

[C]

I'm more concerned with the fact that she still has a drivers license after she killed that poor little boy :( The fact that she doesn't have two hands on the wheel after that bothers me just a little. She disgusts me!