How long should smokers wait before holding baby?

Hi Julia, ideally it should be at least 2-3 hours after having a cigarette as they will continue breathing out the smoke for that period of time even though it can’t be seen Hope that helps xx

Until they stop smoking ! 😆😅 haha Maybe an hour? It's a tricky one! Baby will still breath in a bit no matter how long you wait but ide say the longer after a cigarette the better Ideally they should change clothes and wash their hands before holding baby anyway but they will still breath out the toxins

Honestly I'd tell them you're just not happy with them holding baby! They must know the risks of third hand smoke so I'd just say no! Much easier said than done though. If that's not an option then maybe if they shower and wear fresh clothes, come to you first thing BEFORE they've had a smoke? They might say you can't judge them for their lifestyle choices but you can say the same back to them and that your baby cannot choose whether they want to take the risk or not and therefore you'll make the decision for them. They can make decisions for themselves about whether or not to smoke too....

My mum smokes and it’s so hard. But I’ve told her not to hold LO for 2 hours after as that’s what research and the health visitor recommend. They say that smokers should ideally change their clothes too before holding but I can’t tell my mum to do that 😬 unfortunately, she still chooses to smoke when visiting so it means she doesn’t end up holding him very often but that’s her choice (as much it upsets me!). I also spoke to the HV about visiting someone’s home when they’re smokers too (my mum lives away and I’d like to take little one to visit), we discussed it and agreed that the best time to go was in the summer as all the house windows can be open to help ventilate the stale smoke and my mums agreed to only smoke outside when we go. Good luck with it all, I’ve found it very hard to navigate with my mum!

Tell them to not have a cig for at least a couple of hours before seeing bub, and make sure they change their clothes x

My mum wants to help out so she is staying with me for 2 months. I just wish she would stop smoking at least only temporarily so it doesn't put me in this awkward position. 🥺

She can speak to the gp/ healthy lifestyles and they will help with stopping smoking, will give prescriptions of patches and that if she would be willing (even if it’s only temporary it’s better than nothing) she would just have to tell them she wants help quitting

@Courtney I run a stop smoking clinic

I thought it was 30 minutes after so that's what we did as my boyfriend wouldn't stop smoking. I'm horrified to learn it's 2 hours... Could she vape instead? I'm not sure what the wait time is for that but would assume it's less. It's still nicotine so not like she'd be quitting. Her having to wait 2 hours though seems like it would be more inconvenient having her around unless she purely did house stuff. Or I imagine she doesn't smoke at night so if she did her last cigarette 2 hours before bed she could have the baby for night feeds if you're bottle feeding?

My mom's a smoker & everytime I'd have my boys at her house I'd have to bathe them again as soon as we got home. The smell stuck in their clothes, hair, everything. It was beyond frustrating 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🙌

@Vicki might help if they put a mask on