my mother was a smoker and did not breast feed. she had 3 kids with my dad, all 3 of us have had serious weight problems (my and dad didn't have a significant weight problem). her son by another husband didn't have a weight problem though, at any point in his life (he's in his 60s now)

Hmm... that is a really interesting thought. I have never ever put that together. My mother smoked with all of us when she was pregnant and forever after. We where also bottle fed. My mother was a stick and all of us had weight issues, my brother being the least.

Mom was the type to go..." You dont have a boyfriend cause you need to lose weight, here have a piece of cake to make you feel better"

My mom didn't smoke with any of us kids (except she told me that she smoked weed once while she was preggo with me, before she knew she was pregnant). And she nursed all three of us for at least 8-9 months each. And I'm the only one with serious weight problems (tho my brother and sister have each been a little chubby at some point in their lives). I'm pretty sure my weight and food issues have more to do with childhood habits, happenings and traumas than they do with my mom's prenatal behaviors tho...

On the flip side of the experience, with my oldest kiddo I smoked until I found out I was pg with her at 7 weeks, then I quit. I nurse her. She is way up the charts on weight and height, so much so the doctor thought we were overfeeding her (we're not, she eats like a bird most of the time and generally healthy foods). I didn't smoke at all with my second and nurse her as well. She is high on the charts for height (so I have tall kids) but not for weight, she is actually so low on the charts the doctor suggested feeding her more often. I told the doctor she already eats 7-8 times a day, large amounts each time! So maybe there is something to the smoking during pregnancy thing... Interesting.

I've never heard about smoking moms and obesity in their children. I would think there would be more of a link to the lack of breastfeeding and obesity. I've read articles about how babies don't learn how to eat, or fullness cues properly when they are bottle fed.

My mom didn't smoke at all and only breastfed me for 6 months and I am the only of my sisters that has a weight problem.

My mother smoked before, while, and after the birth of my brother and I. She never breastfed.

Yes, I tried to convince her to quit, but she still continues to smoke, and gets irritated whenever I bring it up. I have never smoked cigarettes, and will never try it. The smell is disgusting to me, and I can feel my sinuses start to mess up as soon as I smell it. I hate it when she smokes around me. She gets annoyed, because I pinch my nose, or cough.

Yes to all. Both of my obese parents smoked, mom did not breast feed, and both my brother and I have fought our weight our entire lives. We've also fought chronic lung conditions and get bronchitis and pneumonia at the drop of a hat

She's now 350+, smoking away... I swear I don't know how she's still alive.

This is my understanding, too. It makes sense that when a baby nurses, they stop when they are full/done, with no knowledge by the mom how much the baby actually consumed. In contrast, if the doctor tells a mom that the baby should be eating around 2 ounces at a time and she is bottle feeding, the mom tends to try to get that whole 2 ounces in the kid, thereby teaching them YOUNG that they need to go ahead and push past those satiety cues and finish the bottle. I find that so interesting.

I was not breastfed, BTW. But my mom didn't smoke, either.

that's very interesting shannonmb, and makes a lot of sense to me...

My mum started smoking when she was pregnant with me (yeah thanks mum!), and I was an overweight/obese adolescent. Though up until my parents split, i was just overweight (I noticed on the scales it said for a woman my height my weight was the midrange, but that was for a woman, not a really tall 10 year old). I didn't really start stacking on the weight till I lived with only my mum. I notice now, that a lot of my eating habits i learnt off her, so my weight is not necessarily to do with her smoking while carrying me.

My theory is, that women who smoke when pregnant (even though for the last couple of decades its been know that's a really silly thing to do), have a lot less self-control, and are more likely to pass that learned behaviour down onto their children, in a 'i want it and i feel like i need it so i will have it, even though I don't *actually* need it' type of way.

but hey, that's just my opinion

My mom smoked from the time she was a teenager until about 20 years ago, and she breast-fed me (in fact I practically went straight from the rack to the sippy cup, she says I used the bottle very little). I've had weight issues since I was about 10. Also if it means anything, my mom says her doctor strictly forbade her to gain more than 15 lb over her pre-pregnancy weight and bawled her out when she went over that limit (I don't know if that was the precise number but it's WAY lower than today's doctors recommend, and it just makes her laugh when she hears what today's recommendations are).

Also, she'd leave a cig unattended in the ashtray when she went to answer the phone and I'd sneak a puff, and all it did was make me ask what the heck do people get out of firing up a wad of dried leaves and sucking in the hot gases? As a result I've never taken up smoking, thank goodness