Smoking in pregnancy

We know that it can be difficult to stop smoking. However, we also know that you want to give your baby the best possible start in life. The risks of smoking during pregnancy are serious, from premature delivery to increased risk of miscarriage, stillbirth and sudden infant death. Quitting smoking is one of the best things you and your partner can do to help your baby develop healthily during pregnancy and beyond.
For more help and advice visit the Help Me Quit website or call 0800 085 2219

Getting help with stopping smoking

If you want to give up smoking a good first step is to contact Help Me Quit on 0800 085 2219. 

Help Me Quit will support you to stop smoking during your pregnancy and will also support anyone in your household who smokes to quit.  This service is part of your antenatal care and offers the most effective support for people who want to give up smoking. Studies show you are four times more likely to give up smoking successfully if you do it with the help of the NHS compared to trying to give up on your own.

The best way to stop smoking is through accessing FREE NHS support through Help Me Quit (HMQ) as part of your antenatal care. HMQ have Stop Smoking Advisors to support

Telephone: 0800 085 2219

Text: HMQ to 80818

Website: Help Me Quit

Email: ABB.HMQMaternity@wales.nhs.uk

Protecting your baby from tobacco smoke is one of the best things you can do to give your child a healthy start in life. It can be difficult to stop smoking, but it's never too late to quit.

Every cigarette you smoke contains over 7000 chemicals and, therefore, smoking when you are pregnant harms your unborn baby. Cigarettes can restrict the essential oxygen supply to your baby. As a result, their heart must beat harder every time you smoke to take in enough oxygen.

Benefits of stopping smoking in pregnancy

Stopping smoking will help both you and your baby immediately. Harmful gases, such as carbon monoxide, and other damaging chemicals will be cleared from your body. When you stop smoking you:

  • reduce the risk of complications in pregnancy and birth
  • are more likely to have a healthier pregnancy and a healthier baby
  • reduce the risk of stillbirth
  • reduce the chance of your baby being born too early and experiencing the linked complications such as breathing, feeding and health problems that often go with being premature
  • reduce the chance of your baby being born with a low birth weight. Babies of smokers are, on average, 200g (about 8oz) lighter than other babies, which can cause problems during and after labour. For example, they are more likely to have problems keeping warm and are more likely to get infections
  • reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)

Stopping smoking now will also help your baby later in life. Children whose parents smoke are more likely to suffer from asthma and other serious illnesses that may need hospital treatment. Children who grow up in a home of smokers are also more likely to smoke themselves when they grow up as smoking becomes ‘normalised.’

The sooner you stop smoking, the better but even stopping in the last few weeks of your pregnancy will benefit you and your baby. It is never too late to quit smoking and will always benefit you and those around you.

Secondhand (passive) smoke harms your baby

If your partner or anyone else who lives with you smokes, their smoke can affect you and your baby before and after their birth. You may also find it more difficult to stop if someone around you smokes.

Secondhand smoke can also reduce your baby's birthweight and increase the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), also known as "cot death". Babies whose parents smoke are more likely to be admitted to hospital for bronchitis and pneumonia during their first year.

To find out more about quitting and to get support, you or your partner can call Help Me Quit on 0800 085 2219.

Your baby's tiny body is completely dependent on yours, so if you smoke throughout your pregnancy, your baby will go through nicotine withdrawal once it is born. This can make your baby stressed and irritable and it may be difficult to stop them crying.

Smoking while you are pregnant also increases the risk of your baby dying from cot death.

Breastfeeding & smoking

By stopping smoking before - or as soon as - you get pregnant, you can have a safer pregnancy and a healthier baby.

About 16%of women are still smoking when they give birth. Stopping smoking once your baby is born will still help protect them against:

  • sudden infant death sundrome (SIDS)
  • breathing problems
  • ear disease and deafness
  • behavioural problem

Don't stop breastfeeding if you smoke

As a new mum, not smoking is the single most important thing you can do to protect your own health.

However, if you're finding it hard to quit smoking, it's important not to stop breastfeeding. Breastfeeding will still protect your baby from infections and provide nutrients they can't get from formula milk.

What can I do to protect my baby if I can’t stop smoking?

If you or your partner can't stop smoking, making your home completely smoke-free will help protect your baby's health. You may need to ask friends and family not to smoke near your baby, too.

If you or your partner smokes, it's important not to share a bed with your baby (co-sleep). This is known to raise the risk of SIDS, particularly if you smoke, you recently drank alcohol, or you're taking medication that makes you sleep more heavily. More information

For further information about smoking in pregnancy, visit ASH Wales Pregnancy - Action on Smoking and Health (ash.wales)

E-cigarettes in pregnancy

E-cigarettes are fairly new and there are still some things we do not know. However, current evidence on e-cigarettes indicates they are much less risky than smoking.

E-cigarettes are not recommended for use by pregnant women. Unlike nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), such as patches or gum, e-cigarettes are not available on an NHS prescription in Wales. If you want to use an e-cigarette, you can still get free expert help from a stop smoking advisor. It is not advised to use NRT whilst using an e-cigarette and, therefore Help Me Quit can provide behavioural support only if you are wanting to use e-cigarettes to aid you in quitting smoking. To access support through Help Me Quit, call 0800 085 2219.

If you want to give up smoking a good first step is to contact Help Me Quit on 0800 085 2219. Help Me Quit will support you to stop smoking during your pregnancy and will also support anyone in your household who smokes to quit.  This service is part of your antenatal care and offers the most effective support for people who want to give up smoking. Studies show you are four times more likely to give up smoking successfully if you do it with the help of the NHS compared to trying to give up on your own.

The best way to stop smoking is through accessing FREE NHS support through Help Me Quit (HMQ) as part of your antenatal care. HMQ have Stop Smoking Advisors to support pregnant women to stop smoking.  The Advisors provide behavioral support alongside access to nicotine replacement therapies (NRT) which can be collected via your local pharmacy. The Stop Smoking Advisors offer support throughout your whole pregnancy, for the first few week’s baby is born and for anyone else in the household who smoke to give you the best chance of successfully quitting smoking.

Alternatively, your doctor or midwife can provide help and advice about quitting.

Nicotine replacement therapy

You can use nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) during pregnancy if it will help you stop smoking and you're unable to stop without it. It is not recommended that you take prescription only medications such as Champix or Zyban during pregnancy.

NRT contains only nicotine and none of the damaging chemicals found in cigarettes, so it is a much better option than continuing to smoke. It helps you by giving you the nicotine you would have had from a cigarette without taking in harmful chemicals.

NRT is provided free as part of your journey when you access NHS support through Help Me Quit. You can also be prescribed NRT during pregnancy by a GP or visiting a Level 3 pharmacy who offer free Stop Smoking Support. You can buy NRT over the counter without a prescription from a pharmacist, however, it is advised you speak to a trained specialist to discuss what products would best suited you and your nicotine dependency.

NRT is available as:

  • patches
  • gum
  • inhalator
  • nasal spray
  • mouth spray
  • lozenges
  • microtabs

If you have pregnancy-related nausea and vomiting, patches may be a better solution.

NRT patches should be used for no more than 16 hours in any 24-hour period. The best way to remember this is to remove the patch at bedtime.

Before using any of these products, speak to a midwife, GP, a pharmacist or a specialist Stop Smoking Advisor. By getting this specialist adviceyou can be sure that you are doing the nest for your baby and best for you.

You can ask your midwife to refer you to the HMQ Maternity services (automatic referral should be made by the midwifery team at time of antenatal booking if confirmation of smoking is given). Alternatively, for more information, call Help Me Quit on 0800 085 2219.

Remember, you are four times more likely to be successful at quitting if you get some support from a trained advisor.

Liquorice-flavoured nicotine products

Pregnant women are advised to avoid liquorice flavoured nicotine products. Although there is no known risk with small amounts of liquorice flavouring, the manufacturers advise caution.

This caution is based on information on the adverse effects associated with excessive amounts of liquorice root. As other flavours are available, pregnant women are advised to select an alternative, such as fruit or mint.Telephone: 0800 085 2219

Text: HMQ to 80818

Website: Help Me Quit | Stop Smoking Services In Wales

Email: ABB.HMQMaternity@wales.nhs.uk

Improving the physical and emotional health and wellbeing of expectant mothers, infants, children and young people throughout Aneurin Bevan University Health Board Area.

(N.B: The Family and Therapies team at ABUHB is NOT responsible for the content on the webpage links that we refer to in our resource sections and linked information to external sites. All information was accurate and appropriate at the time the webpage was created.)

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