What kind of damage is my sister in law doing to my future nephew?

: What kind of damage is my sister in law doing to my future nephew?
So my sister in law is 15 weeks pregenant and she does not take care of herself at all. She eats junk food, smokes, and lays in bed all day watching TV. Don’t pregenant woman need some sort of exercise? She pigs out on foods like carbos, chocolates, and cakes. What kind of damage can she be causing to her unborn child?

Answers and Views:

Answer by Kaity
She needs to stop smoking that could cause the most damage. She should be eating healthier, but that’s not as important as not smoking. She’s supposed to pig out on food she’s pregnant lol.

Answer by Sylvester
smoking is the big issue there

hugs
xxxx

Answer by Katie and James
the smoking is the worst! light exercise even a short walk and as long as she is taking vitamin supplements the baby will take whatever it needs. If she is going to act like she should of been taking folic acid until 12 weeks and should still take it and a good preg supplement like pregnacare throughout the rest. Smoking Drinking is a no no. Im 26 weeks smoked, drank and was that active then at 5 weeks pregnant i found i was pregnant and stopped everything and eating ok but i take vitamins, i hate junk food so eat more fruit and veg but more fruit.

Answer by Steph L
As for the junk food and laziness, I don’t think she’s really doing any harm to the baby – but she’s just going to be miserable throughout the pregnancy, labor and postpartum. Exercise while pregnant will make her feel better and help her recover faster after the birth.

But for the smoking, that is a major deal because smoking is linked to an increase in the baby’s heart rate, an increased chance of miscarriage and stillbirth. Also, there is the risk that your baby is born prematurely and/or born with low birth weight. And since all of the nastiness of cigarettes passes to the baby, there is an increased risk of developing respiratory (lung) problems, along with a lower amount of oxygen available to the baby, which I would guess might do some brain damage.

I would suggest telling her the damages she’s doing to the baby in case she’s unaware. If that doesn’t help, maybe getting your brother to help or her parents maybe.

Answer by Not a sweetie
Long term damage… I’m not talking about her health and fitness here. Many people pig out and still smoke and have perfectly fine babies. It’s just that she sounds feral and lazy and her kid will turn up the same too. One more dole bludger with mental problems.

Answer by A
Yes smoking is an issue for all of these reasons and more… However, overeating and eating foods high in carbs and low in nutritional value can actually harm the baby quite a bit, as well as the mom. This can very easily lead to gestational diabetes. This can cause her baby to be stillborn as well as cause potential problems in organ development. It can make her baby really big and hard to deliver, while a the same time causing certain organs not to develop completely or properly. If it gets really bad, the baby may have to be taken early… sometimes too early, or the mother can die. great choice to have to make there.

Unfortunately, all you can do is give her education about it… get her to a doctor for prenatal care and hope she follows the instructions. For some damage it may be too late already, for others, there may be time to fix it before the birth.

Answer by Doodlestuff
Instead of criticizing her, ask what you can do to provide her healthier food. Anybody who lays in bed all day is usually depressed.