1,466 pregnant women still smoke (From The Argus)
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1,466 pregnant women still smoke
5:20pm Friday 17th February 2012 in News By Siobhan Ryan, Health Reporter
More than a thousand women are putting the health of their babies and themselves at risk by smoking while pregnant.
Figures show 1,466 women who gave birth across Sussex over a nine month period admitted they were still smokers.
Medical advice warns cigarettes can raise the risk of miscarriage, having your baby early, low birth weight and birth defects.
Medics say quitting smoking will leave the mother-to-be healthier and they will be less likely to suffer complications when they go into labour.
Research shows higher numbers tend to be found in areas of deprivation such as parts of Brighton and Hove and Hastings and Rother.
However the city’s overall smoking-while-pregnant rate of more than 5% is lower than other areas of the county.
Details published by the NHS Information Centre show that 181 pregnant women in Brighton and Hove were still regularly lighting up, a further 636 in East Sussex and 649 in West Sussex.
Patient groups say the figures are concerning although health bosses say the message is starting to get through and the numbers are falling.
Tough to give up
Peter Adams from the Patient Action Group in Sussex said: “This is very surprising. I would not have expected the numbers to be as high as that.
“It is obvious that cigarettes can do damage and for the sake of the child at least you would have through people would have given up.”
However a mother from Peacehaven, who has a three-year-old baby, said giving up was not always easy.
The 26-year-old said: “When I got pregnant I tried to give up but it was a lot harder than it sounded.
“I know people think you should just be able to give up but you could be going through all sorts of problems and stress and you rely on cigarettes to cope.
“I used to be on about 15 cigarettes a day and I cut back to one or two but I did feel guilty about it.
“My child is OK but I know I took a risk.”
A spokeswoman for NHS Sussex said: “We know that going smoke free during pregnancy is particularly hard for many women.
“Specialist support is on offer across Sussex for every pregnant woman.
“Mums-to-be can receive tailored support, from home visits, to one to one or group sessions to telephone or text messaging support.
“Our Stop Smoking Services across Sussex work very closely with midwives in hospitals and in the community to ensure they can give the best advice and signpost to where further help is available.
“Quitting is not easy and it can take some smokers several attempts to give up for good.
“But going smoke free is the single most important thing that anyone can do for their health and wellbeing, and their child’s, so we would urge every pregnant smoker to contact their local specialist support team and find out what’s available for them.”
Comments(8)
Lewesroadresident
says...
11:37am Sat 18 Feb 12
In other words, something was hard so she couldn't be bothered, even though it was possibly damaging her child.
Even if the child is completely unaffected, that is more through luck than anything. Seeing as the chances of it impacting on the child are high, I think it should be made a criminal offence. I'm not usually up for creating new laws, but people who are this weak and selfish, and prepared to sacrifice the health of their child because something isn't easy, should be condemned by society.
moronslayer
says...
12:18pm Sat 18 Feb 12
A number of smoking mothers have sued, and won, against the NHS where they claimed those trying to deliver their baby made mistakes. Counter-claims that the mother did plenty to complicate her own pregnancy by smoking appear irrelevant.
One case saw an obstetrician sucessfully sued: he was annoyed that the woman delayed her elective caesarian section for a few extra minutes to have another cigarette. After sucessful delivery he said something like 'congratulations, well done, and if you can give up smoking there's more chance of you seeing her grow up!'. She got a big payout because of the mental anguish he caused. This case was published in the Medical Protection Society / MDU case notes circular.
I think that if mothers smoke and drink alcohol to excess whilst pregnant, they might well need to get urgent help to talk about important issues to them that they cannot always discuss constructively with family and friends...possibly that they have grave reservations about carrying that particular man's child. Men who smoke around pregnant mothers should, of course, be flogged and then shot (probably with their own gun).
Number Six
says...
12:50pm Sat 18 Feb 12
What sort of mother can't force herself to give up to protect her unborn child? They keep telling me that the instinct to protect your child is the strongest instinct there is. Obviously not
AngelicDevil
says...
2:27pm Sat 18 Feb 12
Number Six wrote:The kind of woman who should not be breeding in the first place.
As Waynetta Slob put it "I'm smoking for two now"
What sort of mother can't force herself to give up to protect her unborn child? They keep telling me that the instinct to protect your child is the strongest instinct there is. Obviously not
Unfortunately, there seem to be a lot of those about these days.....
Bladesboy Returns
says...
4:32pm Sun 19 Feb 12
Couldn't make it up!
Bladesboy Returns
says...
4:47pm Sun 19 Feb 12
moronslayer wrote:Could you let me know when my Op is scheduled for please if I mail you privately, keen to move up the waiting list if possible.
Good points. But you forget that they can always just dump a defective baby back on the state and try again if it gets too tough to deal with the baby's birth defect they may well have helped to cause.
A number of smoking mothers have sued, and won, against the NHS where they claimed those trying to deliver their baby made mistakes. Counter-claims that the mother did plenty to complicate her own pregnancy by smoking appear irrelevant.
One case saw an obstetrician sucessfully sued: he was annoyed that the woman delayed her elective caesarian section for a few extra minutes to have another cigarette. After sucessful delivery he said something like 'congratulations, well done, and if you can give up smoking there's more chance of you seeing her grow up!'. She got a big payout because of the mental anguish he caused. This case was published in the Medical Protection Society / MDU case notes circular.
I think that if mothers smoke and drink alcohol to excess whilst pregnant, they might well need to get urgent help to talk about important issues to them that they cannot always discuss constructively with family and friends...possibly that they have grave reservations about carrying that particular man's child. Men who smoke around pregnant mothers should, of course, be flogged and then shot (probably with their own gun).
Brightonlad
says...
2:16am Mon 20 Feb 12
moronslayer says...
11:25am Sat 18 Feb 12
I heard of a young woman that smoked even more because she wanted to have a smaller baby - this was based on advice provided to her by her mother.
It would be interesting to see how many of the children have some degree of fetal alcohol syndrome.
Those agreeing to have contraceptive implants until they've had enough of the fags and alcopops should be rewarded financially - less misery all 'round.