"There are specialist midwives who provide the stop smoking services in combination with their maternity care, and that is really joined up and good continuity for these women because part of it is about building up a trusting relationship with these women and understanding what their issues are." "Stop smoking services are offered on an opt-out basis, so when women are pregnant they will be offered those support services," Livingstone says. The NHS Smokefree helpline on 03 offers free help, support and advice on stopping smoking and can give you details of local support services. To find your nearest NHS Stop Smoking service, speak to your midwife, a health visitor, a practice nurse, a pharmacist or your doctor. The service can offer one-to-one or group sessions with trained advisers and may even have a stop smoking in pregnancy specialist. NHS Stop Smoking Services can provide behavioural support and access to nicotine replacement therapy or medications to help you quit. Whether that is cognitive behavioural therapy and really good support, and/or in combination with nicotine replacement therapy." "There are really good services out there that will help them change their behaviour. "They need to know that it is possible and women can do it successfully," she says. Livingstone says women can lack confidence in their ability to quit. There are many ways to quit smoking if you need help. "I guess I decided to put the health of another person first." "I gave up as soon as I found out I was pregnant and I haven’t smoked a cigarette since," she says. Victor thought giving up smoking would be really tough, but she found it wasn't too bad. ![]() I had cigarette breaks at work and would light up at the bus stop, walking home or waiting for an appointment." "I was a 12-a-day smoker, the kind of person who had a cigarette first thing in the morning and last thing at night. I had miscarried before - I also quit smoking then but started again after I miscarried - and I wanted to make sure that I was in my best health throughout the pregnancy," she says. "I quit because I didn't want to put my unborn child in any sort of danger or pose a risk to their well-being. Anucyia Victor, 39, quit when she found out she was pregnant in 2015. Quitting smoking can be very hard, but for some, getting pregnant is a strong incentive to stop. I think it's really important that we don't blame and we don't judge women, but they do need to know the facts." "When they have difficult circumstances that they are dealing with, the smoking messages are not getting through. "The reality is that women have many challenges in their lives and some of those can take priority," she adds. Women living in poorer areas are more likely to smoke than those in more affluent regions, research shows 2. "And it will come as no surprise that these are areas of extremely high deprivation because it is strongly correlated with that and socio-economic factors." "There are pockets of it where the rates of smoking in pregnancy are much higher," says Livingstone. Why are women still smoking in pregnancy? ![]() Secondhand smoke, from a partner or another family member, can also affect the mother and baby, increasing the risk of cot death. In addition, the baby will be less likely to be born underweight, which can leave them prone to infections. You will be more likely to have a healthy pregnancy and birth, and the risk of stillbirth and premature birth - which can cause problems with feeding and breathing - will be reduced. When you stop smoking, it immediately helps you and your baby and will reduce the risk of complications in pregnancy and birth. ![]() Many of the chemicals cause cancer and others are poisonous, including hydrogen cyanide, ammonia and carbon monoxide, which cause harm to a developing baby.Ĭigarettes can also restrict the essential oxygen supply to your baby and as a result, their heart has to beat harder every time you smoke. It couldn't really be worse and we want to find a way to avoid the tragic consequences for women and their families."Įach cigarette contains more than 5,000 chemicals, including nicotine, which is highly addictive. However, this means that around 1 in 11 women are still smoking during pregnancy.Ĭlare Livingstone, professional policy advisor at the Royal College of Midwives, says: "We know that it has been shown to cause really serious damage and increases the risk of stillbirth, prematurity and sudden infant death syndrome, known as cot death. According to NHS data, the smoking rate for pregnant women at the time of birth fell to 8.8% between 20 - which is the lowest annual rate on record 1. Smoking rates in the UK have dropped significantly.
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