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New smokefree campaign aimed at pregnant women

  • Last modified date:
    5 February 2009
Campaign image of pregnant woman smoking

A powerful campaign has launched to raise awareness of the dangers of women smoking during pregnancy.

Supported by women's health specialist Dr Miriam Stoppard, the campaign seeks to encourage public support for pregnant women in their quit attempts and to drive take-up of the specialist pregnancy NHS Stop Smoking Services available to help them.

The new campaign will target the 100,000 (17 percent) of pregnant women in England who smoke during their pregnancy by communicating why smoking is harmful to them and their baby. 

The campaign will lead on the fact that every cigarette smoked restricts the essential oxygen supply to an unborn baby, so that their tiny heart has to beat harder every time a pregnant woman smokes. The campaign reinforces the message that every cigarette harms the unborn baby, and that stopping smoking - no matter how far along the pregnancy is - will benefit the woman and her baby immediately. 

To respond to the specialist needs of women who smoke during pregnancy, there is dedicated NHS support to help pregnant women to quit. The NHS Pregnancy Smoking Helpline - 0800 169 9 169 - offers a free and friendly service that provides practical advice about stopping smoking.

Pregnant women can sign-up to receive regular phone calls which provide flexible ongoing support and encouragement. In addition, there are over 150 local NHS Stop Smoking Services throughout the country, offering a range of services and the majority offer pregnancy specific support services.

As part of the new campaign, midwives have been provided with new tools and information to support their work in helping pregnant smokers stop smoking. These include a new leaflet and a Smoking in Pregnancy Support DVD.

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