Blog provided by a young parent and Julie Dyck, Social Worker at Women’s Hospital Outpatient Clinics. Nicotine is a hard habit to quit, and no one understands that more than expectant young mom to be Leah L.  Leah recently stopped vaping nicotine and THC. She says that even though she started smoking only one year ago, it became an “everyday routine for months”.  Leah wanted to share her story because she’s been feeling a “lot better every day” and “not thinking about it (vaping) all the time takes a lot of weight off my shoulders.”

After Leah found out she was pregnant, Leah noticed her anxiety had increased because of her vaping and says “I was really scared of what could happen” to her baby.  She “read about stillbirth and premature, and read that lifestyle choices could impact that” and decided to try and stop.  Leah says that stopping “weed was a lot easier than vaping because my body was telling me to stop”. Leah says she experienced a worsening in nausea when she did smoke THC products.

Leah shared that listening to supportive people made it easier to quit.  A harder aspect was losing friends who still vaped. Her friends had taken her quitting personally, which lead to Leah feeling like she lost them because of wanting a healthier lifestyle.  She says it’s “better safe than sorry” and doesn’t regret her decision, even though it meant sacrificing her friendships.

Leah wants other young moms to know that at first, when people would talk to her about quitting, she wanted to change the subject and wasn’t ready to quit.  She doesn’t want other moms to feel scared or guilty if they are vaping, but that it’s not too late to quit. Leah shared that she feels relief in knowing she is valuing her own health, and she has been able to save a lot more money for baby supplies.

If you would like to learn more about how to cut out nicotine and THC check out the resources below.

https://www.gov.mb.ca/mh/tobacco/quitting.html

https://healthyparentingwinnipeg.ca/cannabis-use-know-the-facts/