MUMS and mums-to-be are being urged to think more seriously about quitting smoking this Mother’s Day to spare the family future heartbreak.

Women who smoke during pregnancy leave themselves at greater risk of being up all night with an irritable infant, and also the baby dying from miscarriage, stillbirth and cot death.

Despite large drops in smoking in the North East, the region still has 22% of pregnant women smoking at the time of delivery compared to the national average of 14%. If the North East got down to the national average, it would save 133 tiny lives a year from a reduction in miscarriages and stillbirths.

And children worry about their mums smoking too. A survey by Fresh of smokers in the North East found that over half of smokers say their children often ask them to quit.

A task now facing health professionals is ensuring young women understand they can expect positive, blame-free support to quit, says Dr Shonag Mackenzie, who liaises with midwives from across the North East.

Dr Mackenzie, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist for Northumbria Foundation NHS Trust, said: “It’s so incredibly sad that some young women are addicted to smoking from childhood and the result is the utter agony and distress of losing a baby.

“The trauma families go through arranging a funeral when they should be celebrating a new birth shows we must do more to debunk some of the myths around smoking during pregnancy.

“Many women wrongly believe that giving birth to a lighter baby will mean an easier birth, but in fact a low birth weight baby makes it more likely they will suffer complications in labour and may even have a stillborn baby.

“Smoking forces the baby to consume the same poison as in car exhaust fumes and an unhealthy baby is more likely to become an unhealthy adult.

“And babies who are born this way are more likely to suffer from severe illness and respiratory infections and being taken backwards and forwards to hospital in their early years.

Shonag said: “Many women know smoking is bad for them, but don’t really understand the process of what happens to their baby when they inhale tobacco smoke.

“Every mum wants to protect their child and from my own experience, women are often genuinely shocked and appalled when they learn what sort of chemicals an unborn child is exposed to.

“Most of all these women need to know they can get help to quit without being judged, or made to feel guilty. Every health professional working in this field has a duty to let these women know they will get all the help and encouragement the NHS can give them and they not be frowned at.”

Ailsa Rutter, Director of Fresh, said: “The tobacco industry spends millions of pounds making its products alluring to young people, especially women. It’s no coincidence that more women are now taking up smoking than men although the vast majority don’t smoke and the messages have got out there

“Not smoking is a priceless gift to your baby, your children and yourself. We need to encourage more women to make this choice, rather than hand over their hard earned money to an industry which doesn’t care at all about the welfare of our families.

“This is also a message to dads who buy and help write Mothers Day cards on behalf of younger children. Their support can go a long way.”

Pregnant women who smoke do not automatically find it easy to stop smoking as soon as they become pregnant, sometimes hiding their smoking rather than asking for help to quit, because they feel guilty and assume they will be criticised.

The North East has the best NHS Stop Smoking Services in the country and they are geared up to help mums-to-be quit in a confidential and friendly way, as well as support to reduce cravings.

Jen Anderson, Specialist Stop Smoking Service Adviser for the Newcastle and North Tyneside NHS Stop Smoking Service, said: “The good news is that once a woman quits smoking, the levels of carbon monoxide quickly subside to safe levels. Every cigarette a pregnant woman doesn’t smoke is doing their baby good.

“A lot of the women we see do feel guilty and are worried that they will be made to feel guilty, but we understand quitting can be difficult when you’re pregnant. It’s about giving encouragement and support.

“We’re always delighted to see a pregnant mum taking their first steps to quit and celebrating that decision.

“But we also encourage dads and grandparents to be supportive as well. They have a hugely important role in protecting the health of their baby.”

A report by the Royal College of Physicians found maternal smoking and exposure to the unborn child causes up to 5000 miscarriages, 300 perinatal deaths and 2,200 premature births a year.

Broken down for the North East that is 360 miscarriages, 22 perinatal deaths and 160 premature births.

In addition it found that babies exposed to smoke in the womb are also more likely to suffer from cot death and birth defects such as cleft palate, as well as a higher risk of heart disease in adulthood.

There is dedicated NHS support to help pregnant women to quit. The NHS Pregnancy Smoking Helpline 0800 1699169 offers a free and friendly service that provides practical advice and can put you in touch with local support.

WHAT HAPPENS TO THE BABY WHEN YOU SMOKE ?

When a pregnant woman smokes, the baby in the womb is subjected to chemicals which make it harder for them to get oxygen.

Carbon monoxide, the chemical found in car exhausts, and nicotine reach the baby crossing the placenta through the blood stream.

The nicotine tightens the blood vessels throughout the body including the umbilical cord which reduces the supply of oxygen to the baby.

In addition to that, the red blood cells that carry oxygen start picking the carbon monoxide instead of oxygen. Your baby and the placenta are deprived of oxygen and other important nutrients.

THE RISKS

Smoking during pregnancy is an important cause of ill-health for both mother and foetus. Women who smoke are at greater risk of:
• Ectopic pregnancy, a leading cause of death for women in the first three months of pregnancy
• Having a child with a birth defects such as cleft lip and cleft palate
• A premature baby-hose born before 37 weeks of pregnancy. Premature babies are at greater risk of illness and death and spending the first two years of their life in and out of hospital
• Miscarriage - directly linked with the number of cigarettes smoked
• Low birth-weight. Babies are at increased risk of illness. Moreover, there is a close association between low birth-weight and death in infancy
• Stillbirth – loss of the baby after the 24th week of pregnancy and neonatal death – death of the newborn during the first four weeks of life. It is estimated that about one-third of all these deaths in the UK are caused by smoking. The greater the number of cigarettes smoked during pregnancy, the greater the risk
• Other complications of pregnancy that affect the placenta, which supplies oxygen and nourishment to the developing foetus. Placental complications are a cause of illness and death in mother and baby.
Taken from Smoking and Reproductive Life, British Medical Association, Feb 2004
http://www.bma.org.uk/images/smoking_tcm41-21289.pdf