There was a scene on a TV show depicting the early ‘60s, Mad Men, I think, in which the OB-GYN’s waiting room, well stock with ashtrays, is filled with pregnant mommies puffing away. I remember my mom was watching the show, and I said, “Oh, that looks exaggerated.” And I still think it probably was exaggerated to some extent, but my mom was like, “No, no, that’s pretty much how it was.” Maybe fetuses were tougher in those days.
There were many cigarette ads proclaiming that doctors preferred a certain brand.
No, most women didn’t smoke while pregnant in my observation. My wife smoked, but quit while pregnant. Took it back up after nursing was over.
I had my 3 children in the early 70’s. When I was pregnant with my first I told the OBGYN that I smoked and he said “no problem but watch your weight”. I weighed about 120lbs. My daughter weighed 9lb.5oz. One year later my next baby was 9lbs9oz and my next one was 9lbs9oz. I had quit halfway through that pregnancy and never went back. Back then doctors were weight nazis , not very concerned about cigarettes.
It was not exaggerated.
I remember going to the doctors once a week for physical therapy after I had a mild case of polio in 1956 and ashtrays in the waiting room. Often the doctor would come out to the waiting room to get me while putting out a cigarette in a nearby ashtray.